New York City will inject $50 million over four years into the childcare sector to support its littlest learners and help parents get back to work, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday.
The funds are part of a $100-million public-private partnership introduced at the glitzy Robin Hood gala at the Javits Center Monday night, where philanthropists raised funds for poverty-fighting programs — including an auction for a trip to space on one of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rockets.
“Investing in childcare is a down payment on progress and the future of our kids,” said Adams.
“We need to get New Yorkers back to work and lower the cost of childcare — both of which will uplift families and remove the obstacles that are holding too many parents back,” he said.
One in four parents since the pandemic began have had to turn down, change or put a job on hold due to a lack of child care, according to data from Robin Hood.
A city press release for the investment — dubbed the Childcare Quality and Innovation Initiative, and funded by state and federal block grants and philanthropic dollars — said the money would go toward making high-quality childcare more accessible and affordable.
“Access to high-quality and affordable child care sets a child up for success to excel developmentally and academically and gets parents back to work,” said Robin Hood CEO Richard Buery. “It’s good for the economy and good for fighting poverty.”
Funds could be allocated for adding licensed child care providers to neighborhoods without enough of them, supporting programs that operate outside typical work hours, and providing professional development for early education teachers.
The recent announcement is part of a broader child care plan that City Hall signaled could be released in “coming weeks.”
In his remarks at the Robin Hood gala, Adams gave kudos to his predecessors in the audience — Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio — for their work in early education.
“I’m so proud to be not only the 110th (mayor of New York City), but to know the 108th and 109th mayor,” he said. “This is a continuation of the things that they did in their administration.”
“Pre-K and 3L was Bill de Blasio, and we all know what Michael Bloomberg has done for this city.”
The comments were followed by a live auction, where bidders vied for a trip to space onboard Blue Origin’s New Shephard rocket — with a New York City public school teacher of their picking.
For the highest bid $8 million, the trip went to hedge fund executive Ken Griffin of Citadel, who donated the seats to two educators. A spokesperson for Robin Hood confirmed those teachers have yet to be selected.
