Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani say child care is too expensive for New Yorkers, and want to beef up government programs so families with children who want help can get it.

“We are on a path to universal child care,” Hochul said.

But many plans would be expensive: estimated to cost billions of dollars statewide.

“She’ll be the first one to tell you that it can’t happen overnight,” Blake Washington, the NYS Budget Director, said on Nov. 17 in Albany.

Families shell out tens of thousands of dollars per kid annually. Hochul already expanded a tax credit, spends billions on vouchers covering 170,000 kids up until age 13 and cuts bonus checks for workers.

Now, with an ally — and added pressure — from the popular Mayor-elect, she’s drafting a plan.

“Where can they come tog

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