New York City is a place where families come to build dreams, but in recent years, too many parents have told us a heartbreaking truth: They love their neighborhood, they love their community, but they can’t afford to raise their children here. One of the biggest reasons? The crushing cost of child care. For too many working families, quality care for their toddlers costs more than rent or a mortgage. It’s an impossible choice: Pay a second rent for child care, or uproot your life and move elsewhere. This is not the kind of city we want to be.
We can — and must — change that. We’ve seen what happens when New York makes bold investments in children. Universal Pre- for four-year-olds was transformative. It gave children a strong start, relieved parents of a huge financial burden, and became a model for the nation. Families stayed in the city because they knew their children would have a safe, enriching place to learn. And it didn’t just benefit individual families — our entire city gained from the increased economic activity, workforce participation, and long-term educational outcomes.
Now it’s time to build on that success and expand universal, high-quality care to our two- and three-year-olds. The evidence is clear: Early childhood education isn’t just babysitting; it’s a foundation for lifelong learning, emotional development, and social skills. Studies show that the earlier we invest, the bigger the return — for children, for families, and for society. Yet in New York City today, access to these opportunities depends on your ZIP code and your income. That’s unacceptable in a city that prides itself on equality and opportunity.
As a local childcare provider, I’ve seen firsthand the difference these early years make. I’ve watched shy two-year-olds blossom into confident preschoolers because they were in an environment designed for exploration, creativity, and growth. I’ve supported parents who could pursue their careers or continue their education because they had reliable, affordable care.
But I’ve also seen the pain in the eyes of parents who had to withdraw their children because tuition became unaffordable, or who never enrolled in the first place because the numbers just didn’t add up. These families aren’t just statistics — they’re our neighbors, our co-workers, the lifeblood of our communities.
The math is staggering. Infant care in New York City can run to more than $20,000 a year, and care for toddlers is often just as expensive. For a working-class family, that’s not sustainable. Even middle-income families are stretched to the breaking point. The result? Families leave. They move to places where the cost of care is lower — even if that means leaving behind the support networks they’ve built and the jobs they love. When we lose families, we lose more than residents; we lose community stability, local spending, school enrollment, and the next generation of New Yorkers.
For early-childhood care providers, the struggle is never-ending, and many daycares find it impossible to continue. Paying fair salaries to hardworking teachers, the huge burden of providing staff with health insurance, and — of course — escalating rents all force providers to increase our tuition and prevent us from giving more than a few small scholarships each year. That leaves those most in need of support to scramble for care.
Some will ask, “Can we afford universal care?” We’d argue the better question is: “Can we afford not to?” Every year we delay, more families leave, more children miss critical early learning windows, and more parents — especially mothers — are forced out of the workforce. The economic cost of inaction is enormous. Universal early childhood education has been shown to increase future earnings, reduce reliance on social services, and boost tax revenues. It’s an investment that pays for itself many times over.
The infrastructure is within our reach. We already have a network of community-based providers, Head Start centers, and public school classrooms that can be expanded and integrated into a universal system. We can build fair contracts for providers so they can pay their teachers a living wage — because quality care starts with skilled, respected educators who can afford to stay in the profession. We can ensure that every neighborhood, from the East Village to East New York, has enough seats so no parent is forced to travel an hour each way for drop-off and pick-up.
Universal care for two- and three-year-olds would also be a powerful tool for equity. The families who stand to benefit the most are often those with the fewest resources — immigrant families, single parents, and families of color who have historically been shut out of quality early learning. By making it universal, we avoid the stigma and bureaucracy of income-based programs, and we ensure that all children, regardless of background, start school on equal footing.
We know this will require political will, creative financing, and the courage to see child care as essential infrastructure, just like roads and public transit. That means leveraging city, state, and federal funds; considering public-private partnerships; and prioritizing early learning in the city budget. It also means listening to providers, parents, and educators — those who know firsthand what’s needed and what works.
New York has never been a city that shrinks from big ideas. We led the way on universal P-K. We’ve led on public health, on marriage equality, on climate action. Now we have the chance to lead again, by guaranteeing every two- and three-year-old a seat in a high-quality, nurturing classroom. This is how we keep families in New York. This is how we give our children the strongest possible start. This is how we invest in a future where our city is vibrant, inclusive, and thriving for generations to come.
Harvey Epstein represents Lower Manhattan in the New York State Assembly, District 74. He is the Democratic and Working Families Party nominee for the New York City Council, District 2.
Eileen Johnson is director at Little Missionary’s Day Nursery, a childcare provider serving the East Village for generations.