NEW YORK, NY - Regarding the budget agreement announced by Mayor Adams and Council Speaker Adams on Friday, June 28th, Nora Moran, Director of Policy & Advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses (UNH), commented:
While we are relieved that Mayor Adams’ original FY25 budget projections proved inaccurate–rendering many of his proposed cuts to human services unnecessary–the fact that we have arrived today at a budget that includes fewer cuts than expected is no cause for celebration.
The early childhood education system in New York City is complicated–the needs of children and families are not. Parents, providers, advocates, and City Council have worked relentlessly to hold the City to its promise of universal child care. The funding for early childhood education announced today is attributed to their efforts. This budget includes some bright spots, including an expansion of the Promise NYC program, investments to match hours of care to working parents’ needs, and outreach to ensure parents are aware seats are available will go a long way.
We continue our fight to ensure there is a seat for every young New Yorker in our early childhood education system, and we urge the City to invest in our center-based early childhood workforce by bringing them into parity with their public school counterparts working the same jobs with the same credentials–something this budget fails to address.
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United Neighborhood Houses (UNH) is a policy and social change organization representing neighborhood settlement houses that reach 800,000 New Yorkers from all walks of life. A progressive leader for more than 100 years, UNH is stewarding a new era for New York’s settlement house movement. We mobilize our members and their communities to advocate for good public policies and promote strong organizations and practices that keep neighborhoods resilient and thriving for all New Yorkers. UNH leads advocacy and partners with our members on a broad range of issues including civic and community engagement, neighborhood affordability, healthy aging, early childhood education, adult literacy, and youth development.