Child care costs are driving young families out of the city

Plus: What about Flaco's family? [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [Most New Yorkers can’t afford child care, driving young families out of the city, report finds]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ⛅ Sunny this morning, with a chance of showers this afternoon and highs in the upper 50s. It's Tuesday in New York City, where it's extremely expensive to raise a family. According to federal affordability guidelines, families shouldn't pay more than 7% of their household income to care for one child. But a new report from the 5BORO Institute says prohibitively high child care costs are [driving young families — particularly Black families — to leave the city](. Here's what else is happening: - The federal fraud and extortion trial is underway for Lamor Whitehead, a high-profile Brooklyn pastor with ties to Mayor Eric Adams who's accused of tricking people into giving him money [to support his lavish lifestyle](. - A man died in a Brooklyn hit-and-run crash Monday night when he was [ejected from a car that collided with an MTA bus]( according to the NYPD. - The MTA is testing the use of [plastic pylons on the 125th Street subway station platform]( in hopes of reducing attacks on train conductors. - Police said [a 37-year-old man was fatally shot in the head]( in front of a Crown Heights deli yesterday after a dispute over a cigar. - Democratic lawmakers in Albany have voted down a proposed congressional district map drawn by an independent commission and are [opting to draw one themselves]( potentially setting up yet another court battle with Republicans ahead of this year’s elections. - New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim has stepped up his fight with First Lady Tammy Murphy in the Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate, filing a federal lawsuit to stop counties from giving party-endorsed candidates [preferential placement on ballots](. - New Yorkers of color are far less likely to live near [car-free pedestrian plazas]( than white residents, according to a new report from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. - After three people were murdered in the subway system since the start of 2024, the NYPD said it's putting [an extra 1,000 cops on daily subway patrol](. - The MTA yesterday announced two congestion pricing [toll exemptions]( one for drivers with disabilities, and another for taxi or Access-A-Ride drivers who transport people with disabilities. - New York City is offering some migrants whose shelter stays expire free plane tickets out of town. Instead, [many are waiting up to two weeks]( to get back into a shelter. - Tonight, Juilliard is [restaging a 1934 concert originally put together by Harry T. Burleigh]( a prominent Black composer and singer. - Barnard is banning students from putting any stickers or decorations on the outside of [their dorm room doors]( after some residents were accused of posting anti-Semitic stickers. - The hot craze in Hong Kong is crossing the border into mainland China to hit [the new Shenzhen Costco](. - This guy is setting out on March 1 [to run]( from Santa Monica to Times Square. - Merriam-Webster says you can [end a sentence with a preposition]( if you want to. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. [“I didn't realize that conductors were as vulnerable as straphangers, so that is a little bit of a surprise for me.”]( - Liz Neumark, an upper east side resident, on the new [PLATFORM BARRIERS PROTECTING SUBWAY CONDUCTORS]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Central Park's Flaco had a family. Conservationists fear other owls will become targets for release.]( Flaco’s dozen-plus brothers and sisters spread out at facilities across the country are the products of a quiet, decades-long "species survival plan" to maintain the captive Eurasian eagle-owl population as wild owls face existential threats. [27-year-old journalist who died in Harlem fire remembered as generous, gifted colleague]( A fire in Harlem on Friday that the FDNY said was caused by a lithium-ion battery claimed the life of journalist Fazil Khan, whose colleagues described him as generous, gifted and committed to telling stories about New Yorkers. [We Rely On Your Support]( [NYC landlords keep fewer stabilized apartments vacant than you think, officials say]( The city's comparatively low tally of housing units being held off the market — or "warehoused" — belies estimates by both landlord groups and housing advocates who are locked in a dispute over how to get owners to bring empty rent-stabilized apartments on the market. [A New Yorker’s guide to jury duty]( Queens County Commissioner of Jurors Audrey Pheffer says most New Yorkers called for jury duty these days are pleasantly surprised by how engaging the experience is. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.