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With Mayor Zohran Mamdani in office for only one week, already Gov. Kathy Hochul is rushing to appease him by embracing state-funded day care for babies and toddlers, a top priority of his “affordability” agenda.
In a joint presser Thursday in Brooklyn, the new besties extolled families, the miracle of childbirth, and the contributions of working mothers… while brushing right past the little matter of funding a program that, implemented statewide, will cost an estimated $15 billion a year.
Asked about paying for the proposed, initial “2-Care” program — to cover NYC 2-year-olds — Hochul dismissed tax hikes, snapping: “That’s not happening.”
Instead, she boasted: “We have managed our finances quite well,” with “an eye on the revenues that only come to light at the end of the year, which is the bonuses — the taxation on bonuses from Wall Street.”
In other words, the state doesn’t have the cash yet; apparently, running finances “quite well” means Albany has no need (yet) to go to a payday lender.
Whatever the wisdom of a day-care entitlement, the Hochul-Mamdani plan faces all kinds of questions, even beyond the funding mystery.
The rollout will focus on “high-need” areas selected by City Hall. But what’s high need as opposed to high demand?
Many very poor people aren’t in the workplace to begin with, and lack of child care is not at the top of reasons why; lots of middle-class New Yorkers are desperate for day-care options.
Plus, expanding day care to 2-year-olds raises big issues, such as the space required for them to rest, eat, and play, and the staff to tend to them. The NYC Health Code lays out the required staff-to-child ratios for day care, and the personnel needs ramp up quickly when caring for very young kids.
Legal limits on the size of kiddie-care groups mean a need for more day cares, more licensing, and more inspections.
Remember Grei Mendez, the Bronx day-care operator who stored 11 kilos of fentanyl in the kids’ nap area? In 2023, one baby died, and others got sick.
In another tragic child-care disaster, last summer, a 1-year-old Bronx girl drowned in an unsecured backyard pool.
The Hochul-Mamdani plan will rely heavily on home-based day care; how can they ensure these glorified babysitting operations are properly equipped, staffed, and trained?
How will we avoid the kind of social services fraud just uncovered in Minnesota?
Mamdani’s first week has been chock-full of press conferences projecting the image of a mayor on the move, but results are what count: Hold your applause until something real happens.