'Ms. Rachel' Dings Mayor Over $400M Early Childhood Cuts

NEW YORK CITY — Ms. Rachel took a break from her "Songs for Littles" with a TikTok ditty for Mayor Eric Adams: stop your $400 million early childhood education cuts.

The children's YouTube star posted a short video Tuesday in which she argued the cuts don't make sense, given their benefits to children and families.

"Parents are really struggling to find affordable, high-quality childcare."

"Here in New York City, our mayor cut $400 million from early childhood education programs, and is proposing more cuts."

In a caption, Ms. Rachel — whose real name is Rachel Accurso — pushed viewers to sign a petition for Adams to "stop the cuts to pre-K and 3-K."

A City Hall spokesperson contended that a family earning $55,000 now pays $5 a week for full-time, subsidized childcare since Adams took office, or more than 10 times less than before.

"We are delivering breakthroughs like MyCity to help families sign up for child care online, investing billions of dollars in early child care, and shifting thousands of seats across the city to immediately meet demand and expand access for families, and we are committed to ensuring that every child who needs a seat has one in our city," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson said over 30,000 families have applied for assistance, but did not specify how many families are currently paying $20 a month for full-time childcare.

Many parents, advocates and City Council members contend the early childhood cuts would impact many working- and middle-class families. Young families are already fleeing the city in high numbers, citing the high expense of childcare.

The City Council's recent response to Adams' budget called for a restoration of cuts that rolled back the expansion of 3-K and universal pre-K programs.

With the video, Ms. Rachel — the so-called "Beyoncé for toddlers" — added her voice to chorus calling for the cuts to be reversed as the budget deadline approaches in June.

"What doesn't make sense is that for every dollar invested in early childhood education, you get $4 to $16 back," she said. "Also, all children having access to the option of high-quality early childhood education is going to help the children for their whole lives."