{"id":503832,"date":"2026-01-09T13:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T13:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/503832\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T13:40:12","slug":"free-for-nyc-what-about-the-rest-of-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/503832\/","title":{"rendered":"Free for NYC, What About the Rest of New York"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At first glance, Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/governor-hochul-announces-investments-deliver-universal-child-care-new-york-children-under\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">childcare proposal <\/a>sounds amazing \u2014 <strong>free <a href=\"https:\/\/bigfrog104.com\/tags\/child-care\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">childcare <\/a>for kids under five in New York<\/strong>. The headlines make it look like a game-changer for families statewide.<\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s the reality: if you live outside New York City, the plan barely helps.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, all the attention, funding, and \u201cfree\u201d slots are going to NYC families, starting with the 2-Care program for two-year-olds.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bigfrog104.com\/med-spa-dangers-new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What New York Found Inside Some Med Spas Will Shock You<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, upstate, in the suburbs, and in rural areas, parents are still facing high costs, long waitlists, and limited childcare options.<\/p>\n<p>AndreaObzerova<\/p>\n<p>AndreaObzerovaNothing in Life is Free<\/p>\n<p>So yes, NYC parents may see \u201cfree\u201d care, but someone has to pay. That someone is all of the taxpayers across the state, through income taxes, sales taxes, and other funding streams.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing in government is really free.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/attachment-900.jpg\" alt=\"WIBX 950 logo\"\/>Families Left Out<\/p>\n<p>For families outside the five boroughs, this rollout is frustrating.<\/p>\n<p>Pre-K expansion for four-year-olds is planned by 2028\u20132029, but younger kids still have no universal access. Pilot programs may offer some help, but it\u2019s a far cry from the \u201cfree childcare\u201d touted in the headlines.<\/p>\n<p>Bottom line: Right now, \u201cfree childcare\u201d is a NYC-only benefit, funded by taxpayers. Families outside the city are left waiting \u2014 and the cost of childcare in the rest of New York hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n<p>The promise is statewide eventually, but for now, it\u2019s clear: everyone outside NYC gets left behind, as per usual.<\/p>\n<p>When will the Governor realize there is so much more to the Empire State than just New York City?<\/p>\n<p>New Year, New Laws in New York &amp; Nationwide<\/p>\n<p class=\"photogallery-credit\">Gallery Credit: Credit &#8211; Polly McAdams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At first glance, Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s childcare proposal sounds amazing \u2014 free childcare for kids under five in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":503833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,50,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-503832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkcity","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115865428285373674","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}