To construct a metropolis that younger households love—not depart—leaders ought to act now to implement daring insurance policies that assist them keep.
Picture through Getty Pictures
Considered one of New York Metropolis’s defining strengths is its magnetic attraction to younger folks, who’re selecting to be right here in excessive numbers regardless of fierce competitors from different cities and an array of post-pandemic challenges. However for all its attract to twenty-somethings, the town is struggling to carry on to New Yorkers as they age into their 30s and begin households.
To construct a metropolis that younger households love—not depart—leaders ought to act now to implement daring insurance policies that assist them keep.
Few cities have skilled such a pointy decline in younger households. Between April 2020 and July 2023, the variety of kids beneath 5 residing in New York Metropolis dropped by 18.3% — almost 4 occasions the nationwide common and greater than peer cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. Since 2020, New Yorkers with kids beneath six have left at greater than twice the speed of different residents.
The lack of New York’s various middle-class households poses a definite menace to the town’s long-term financial well being and vitality. As the town’s fiscal outlook darkens, shedding residents of their prime incomes years undermines the tax base and weakens future stability. Households additionally carry lasting funding to neighborhoods, drive demand for high quality colleges, parks, and transit, and assist construct the form of civically engaged communities that hold New York shifting ahead.
Whereas there’s rising settlement amongst metropolis leaders and the mayoral candidates that New York ought to do extra to retain households, there’s far much less consensus on particular insurance policies that might make an actual, achievable distinction. Our new report helps fill that hole, providing 5 concrete concepts to make the town extra reasonably priced and interesting for households. They embody:
Unlock extra family-sized housing
Younger households who’ve left the town cite housing high quality and affordability as their prime concern. To deal with this problem, policymakers must do extra to create or unencumber three-bedroom residences.
Simply 3.4% of latest reasonably priced housing items constructed up to now decade have been family-sized, leaving many households squeezed out. On the similar time, over 72,000 houses are occupied by solo older adults—a few of whom would downsize if handy, reasonably priced alternate options existed.
The town can develop entry to family-sized houses by zoning reforms and growth incentives to spice up provide, paired with a brand new initiative to assist some older adults—uninterested in residing alone or managing stairs and excessive prices—relocate to smaller, extra accessible items with help from the town to ease this transition.
Spark public-private partnerships to develop childcare
For a lot of New York Metropolis households, childcare prices as a lot—or extra—than lease, making it a key issue driving mother and father out of the town. The mayor ought to seize a serious, untapped alternative to associate with the non-public sector by launching an NYC Childcare Options Fund.
Modeled on a profitable initiative in Iowa, the Fund would begin with a $25 million public funding and leverage matching {dollars} from main employers and philanthropy. It could develop childcare capability by funding wage boosts in packages with room to develop and providing capital grants and low-interest loans to assist profitable suppliers scale.
As in Iowa, the town would oversee public funds whereas philanthropic companions handle non-public contributions, coordinating efforts to maximise impression.
Increase NYC Parks Summer season Day Camp
Although spring has simply arrived, working mother and father have already been scrambling for months to line up summer season care for his or her school-aged children.
Prices can simply prime $5,000 per youngster for the 2 months with out college, and lots of reasonably priced, high-quality packages crammed up final fall for camps that start in June. To ease this burden, the town ought to develop NYC Parks Summer season Day Camp. This wildly standard program presents a summer season of outside journey for simply $575—arguably the most effective deal in New York. Nonetheless, it sometimes receives hundreds of functions for fewer than 600 seats citywide.
The mayor ought to scale up Summer season Day Camp to serve 5,000 households subsequent summer season, saving mother and father hundreds and investing in metropolis parks on the similar time.
Reversing the exodus of younger households is important to New York’s future. The town’s short-term financial outlook and long-term power rely upon our metropolis leaders taking daring, achievable actions proper now—as a result of when households can afford to construct a life right here, the complete metropolis advantages.
Eli Dvorkin is editorial and coverage director for the Middle for an City Future; Winston C. Fisher is a associate at Fisher Brothers Growth.
