Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old New York State Assembly member and democratic socialist, was elected New York City's mayor on Nov. 4, 2025, after pledging to make the city more affordable through policies that include freezing rents, providing free public buses and a network of city-owned grocery stores. Of all of Mamdani's campaign commitments, free high-quality child care for every New Yorker from 6 weeks to 5 years old ' while boosting child care workers' wages to match that of the city's public school teachers ' could be the most transformative. The cost of child care in New York City is expensive. More than 80% of families with young children cannot afford the average annual cost of US$26,000 for center-based care. A recent study found that families with young children are twice as likely to leave the city as those without children. The study identified housing and child care costs as key drivers of migration out of the city. New York's child care problem mirrors a nationwide...
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