Read the full op-ed in Daily News.

—

Excerpt:
Raising children in New York City can be hard and often requires heavy lifting. Try carrying a child in a stroller down the subway stairs. Add in the scarcity of housing, the inaccessibility of child care, and the rising cost of living, and it is no wonder that young families are leaving the city at increasing rates. New research from the Fiscal Policy Institute shows that parents with children under six are moving away from the city at twice the rate of other residents

At the same time young families are leaving, there are some bright spots: an analysis of LinkedIn data by venture firm SignalFire found that more tech workers relocated to New York than any other city last year. Many of these workers — who power our fastest-growing industry — will soon start their own families and decide whether New York is a pit stop on their journey or their new lifelong home, and our city’s leaders should be doing everything they can to keep them here

To make a true economic comeback following the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the city to continue to grow, families need to be able to live, work, and thrive here. One key policy choice that can help reverse these troubling population trends is public investment in child care.