What Mamdani said about Long Island in his victory speech
Zohran Mamdani speaks after winning the mayoral election, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York. Credit: AP/Yuki Iwamura
Long Island got a brief shoutout during Zohran Mamdani’s victory speech Tuesday night — but it was a bit of a head-scratcher.
“Our greatness will be anything but abstract …” said Mamdani, now New York City’s mayor-elect. “It will be felt by each grandparent who can afford to stay in the home they have worked for, and whose grandchildren live nearby because the cost of child care didn’t send them to Long Island.”
Mamdani, who is proposing universally free child care for New York City residents, seemed to be suggesting that right now, the high cost of child care in the city sends families to Long Island, because here, child care is … cheaper?
But the data tells a different story.
The average cost of child care on Long Island in a day care center costs stands at about $24,000 per year, while a licensed provider in a home costs $20,000 a year on average, according to market rate data Newsday published from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Depending on the age of the child and the setting, costs in 2024 ranged from $228 a week to $484 a week, according to state data.
In New York City, average annual costs ranged from $26,000 for day care centers to $18,200 for family-based care. Depending on the age of the child and the setting, costs in 2024 ranged from $188 a week to $500 a week.
People move from New York City to Long Island. They’ve done it before — they'll do it in the future. But cheaper child care isn’t the reason.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
