NEW YORK — Democratic socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and moderate presumptive City Council Speaker Julie Menin are seemingly on an ideological collision course. But free child care is emerging as one issue area they might potentially align on.
Putting the city on a path to universal child care, a popular but expensive program, has been a top legislative priority for Menin. Mamdani made free child care for children 6 weeks to 5 years old a central plank of his affordability-focused campaign.
“There is a real alignment on those issues,” Menin told POLITICO, pointing out that discussions with Mamdani’s team are already underway. “One of the things that we really need to focus on is certainly going to Albany to focus on funding for universal child care, but also looking at the city level and where we can work on some city aspects and resources as well.”…