NEW YORK—If elected, New York City public advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio intends to provide universal pre-kindergarten and after-school care to city children.
To fund the programs, de Blasio would temporarily increase taxes on residents who make more than $500,000, from 3.84 percent to 4.3 percent. The increase would generate $532 million over five years.
New York City lost close to 30,000 out-of-school time slots since 2008, according to the Citizens Committee for Children of New York. De Blasio said that he is the only mayoral candidate with a plan to provide universal pre-kindergarten and after-school care for New York City children.
“It’s an unacceptable reality to this city. We have to turn around. We have to tax the wealthy to do it. The parents are demanding it and it’s time now to invest in our children,” de Blasio said on the steps of City Hall on June 25, 2013.
