Making New York City More Family Friendly, More Affordable, and Safer
Editor’s note: Last week’s Op-Ed by the Mayor focused on delivering for NYC School students. So on a similar theme this week, the Mayor discusses this new initiative, which we reported on recently by the NYC Health + Hospitals system to provide boxes full of baby things that new parents will find essential. Included are diapers, wipes, and many other items that new parents will find essential, particularly those who struggle to afford them. On Staten Island in particular, residents who are experiencing difficulty with purchasing diapers, there are at least two resources that possibly offer them: United Church of Praise International Ministries or the Baby Bin at St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus
Making our city safer and more affordable for working families has been our priority since day one because our administration understands that in New York, it takes a city to raise a child. This starts with ensuring our youngest New Yorkers have a place to live the moment they are born. Last week, we launched our new pilot program, “Creating Real Impact at Birth” (CRIB), an initiative that aims to support families by putting pregnant New Yorkers on a path to permanent housing.
Having a child should be the greatest day of a New Yorkers’ life; it was for me. On that day, you should not have to worry about where you’re going to take your baby once you leave the hospital. You should not have to worry about whether your child will grow up on the verge of homelessness or in a home.
In 2024 alone, over 2,000 babies were born in New York City shelters — that’s 2,000 too many. CRIB is an $8.5-million program that provides pregnant mothers with housing vouchers to divert these families from shelter to permanent housing and improve their health services and outcomes. By ensuring mothers and babies do not enter shelter after leaving the hospital, we are breaking the cycle of poverty and housing instability before it starts and ensuring pregnant New Yorkers move into stable homes before their child is born — that is what CRIB is all about.
We are also making sure that families have the support they need in the days and months after they have a child by launching our “NYC Baby Boxes.” When families head home from the hospital, they will leave with free, vital supplies – including diapers, wipes, clothing, games and toys – and resources on what to expect after giving birth.
NYC Baby Boxes will reach approximately 7,000 families across our public hospital system; that is 7,000 families that will not have to choose between affording supplies and putting food on the table in the earliest days of their babies’ lives. We’re helping ease the financial stress of new families and making New York City more affordable for them.
As always, our administration is always focused on keeping families safe. Public safety is not limited to our streets and subways; it also extends to our homes, too. Violence against women, domestic violence, and gender-based violence continues to cause pain in our society. It affects people of all races, socioeconomic backgrounds, and education levels, and it can happen anywhere in our city and to anyone. The truth is, far too many women and families do not feel safe at home. Every New Yorkers deserves to be safe on the street, in their homes, and in their relationships.
During Domestic Violence Awareness Month this October, we rise as one to say to our domestic violence survivors that they are not alone. To coincide with the awareness month, we launched a new NYPD Domestic Violence Unit. This is the largest unit of its kind in the nation that will allow the NYPD to enhance how it investigates domestic violence incidents and better train officers, all while strengthening support for survivors. It will have approximately 450 police investigators spread out across every patrol precinct in New York City, solely dedicated to addressing domestic violence; that means more resources to help victims and more cops to bring abusers to justice. New Yorkers can be reassured knowing the full force of the law is coming after those who perpetrate these crimes.
Every day, everywhere we are delivering for New Yorkers, and making New York a safer and more affordable city that is the best place to raise a family. Between CRIB, NYC Baby Boxes, and our new NYPD Domestic Violence Unit, we are doing just that.
Banner Image: Baby essential items. Image Credit – NYC H+H
