New York City has a serious question that needs answering. Do we want to be a global hub for hungry, ambitious and resilient people determined to make a better life for themselves and their families?
Do we believe that working parents have a place here—that they are, in fact, critical to the lifeblood of the city?
Most people would say yes—of course. But as any parent in this city can tell you, we are falling maddeningly short of our aspirations. You know a system is broken when so many people cannot afford to work, or are just hanging on to their jobs, because they can’t afford to pay for child care.
This isn’t just a personal issue, it’s a policy failure—and it’s gone on too long. That’s why I’m proud to introduce my universal child care plan. It’s called the CARES Plan (Comptroller’s Audit & Resource Enhancements for Universal Child Care) and uses the capital and resources we already have to change the way we live.
What I’m proposing isn’t some radical, pie-in-the-sky plan that will inevitably get watered down by special interests and city leaders doing their bidding. Instead, my plan would use a $500 million investment from our city’s pension funds—a smart, long-term real estate investment—to finance the expansion of child care facilities across the five boroughs.
Pension funds invest in real estate all the time. My spin on this is simple: let’s make those investments work double-duty by solving one of our biggest crises. By financing child care centers, we get long-term returns for our retirees and immediate help for working parents.
I’m also calling for a Child Care Property Fund to support the acquisition and development of high-quality, affordable child care centers. Thousands of families live in “child care deserts” where options are scarce or unaffordable—or both. Targeting these underserved areas means promising New Yorkers that your zip code isn’t the thing that determines whether you can find safe, nurturing care for your kids.
We should also use social impact bonds to attract private investment into the public sphere. These bonds would fund child care programs that have measurable success, with investors repaid only if a series of strategic benchmarks are achieved. It’s a smart way to keep everyone’s eyes on the ball.
As comptroller, I’ll audit every city agency involved in child care. Providers face slow payments and bureaucratic hurdles that limit the number of seats available. By streamlining the system, we’ll ensure providers get paid on time and parents get better options.
The economic case is clear. New York City loses $23 billion a year because parents, especially women, are forced to leave the workforce or reduce their hours due to lack of affordable child care. Nationally, the U.S. economy loses $122 billion a year for the same reason. Investing in child care is one of the smartest economic decisions we can make.
It’s also a moral obligation. If you really want to know a city’s priorities, don’t listen to political rhetoric. Just look at its budget—how it spends, where it invests and who benefits.
When families have access to affordable child care, our workforce grows stronger. Businesses have a larger, more stable labor pool. Child care workers gain better, more secure jobs. That’s why my plan fights for pay parity for child care workers because they deserve wages and benefits that reflect the critical importance of their work. Investing in the workforce that takes care of our children is just as important as investing in the buildings where that care happens.
Smart real estate investments tied to child care centers strengthen our pension funds and build a stronger city. Stronger families mean a stronger tax base. This is how we retain top talent, keep our economy dynamic, and ensure New York City remains a place where working families can thrive.
In short: investing in child care is a win-win-win. It keeps working families in New York City. It strengthens our economy. It builds long-term value for our pensioners. And it’s the right thing to do for the next generation.
My CARES Plan gives us a blueprint. It’s bold, practical, and possible. And here’s the thing: if we get this done, New York City will be the first city in the nation to offer universal child care. We will lead the way, and the nation will follow. That’s what New York has always done: we dream big, we set the standard, and we show the world what’s possible.
Universal child care should be no exception. Let’s get to work.
