For the first time ever, a majority of New York City Council members are women and they're using their platforms to improve child care options in New York City.
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The move has garnered support from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who spoke at the Institute of Global Politics' Women's Initiative at Columbia University on Tuesday.
"We're seeing here in New York the possibility that what was promised as universal Pre-K is being cut back and I know the City Council will be not just talking about that today, but also fighting to keep that," she said.
The goal of the initiative is to generate solutions and make child care more affordable and easily accessible.
"We know that child care, on average, costs between $18,000 and $20,000 a year. That is simply unaffordable for the vast majority of New Yorkers," Council member Julie Menin said during the panel.
Menin introduced bills that would implement universal child care, increase affordable after-school programs, improve training of child care workers and improve their pay.
"In 2022, the city lost $23 billion because women had to make a choice: Should I work or should I take less of a pay or less hours to make sure my child is getting quality child care," Council member Rita Joseph said.
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Last year, Mayor Eric Adams cut more than $100 million from preschool programs and youth services.
"Those cuts are devastating and you know what? They were not necessary," Council member Gale Brewer said.
Now, Adams says he is working to balance the budget without a new influx of cash.
"We don't want to do anything that would impact the success we have shown already in the city and we want to make sure we do it in a balanced way," Mayor Adams said.
Speakers at Tuesday's IGP Women's Initiative stressed that improved child care services are not only good for families, but will have residual positive impacts on employers and even the city.
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