Friend,

We just scored a big win for working families in New York. 

As you may have heard, we just passed a historic budget in Albany, and in doing so expanded the Child Tax Credit to include children ages 0-3. This means that more New York families than ever before will have access to the support they need to provide for their children.

I’m proud to have led the fight for this important change, because I believe that investing in our youngest New Yorkers is critical to building a stronger state with opportunities for all. With this expansion, we can help ensure that families have the resources they need to provide for their children during these crucial early years, setting them up for success in school and beyond.

But our work for families doesn’t stop there. I’m fighting hard to expand this support with the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC), which could reduce the poverty level by nearly 20% for New York’s most at-risk children. This proposal will provide a safety net for working families across the state to help meet their basic needs, opening new doors for parents in financial distress as well as their children.

✅ With strong support from my colleagues and from New Yorkers across the state, I’m proud to share that we won a crucial expansion in eligibility for the Empire State Child Tax Credit. Because of this, more than a million families with children ages 0-3 can now receive an average of $318 back in their pockets. That’s money that can go towards paying rent, purchasing diapers, and investing in childcare. It’s a game-changer.

✅ This year's budget included big wins for subway and bus rides in NYC. We put the MTA on secure financial footing and secured $35 million in frequency improvements, lowering wait times to below double digits over time for many lines in Brooklyn. We also included one free bus route per borough, and blunted the upcoming fare hike by reducing what it will be.

✅ We continued our fight for a New Deal for CUNY this year, winning over a million dollars in additional aid and over a billion dollars in new capital funds. Most notable, we stopped the tuition hike for both CUNY and SUNY for in-state students.

✅ We included groundbreaking climate legislation in this years budget including the Build Public Renewables Act, which authorizes NYPA to develop and own renewable energy projects, and we also included the All Electrics Buildings Act, which will make sure that new commercial or residential development after December 31, 2028 is an all-electric building.

✅ We achieved a modest minimum wage increase, finally allocated ERAP funds for our public housing residents who were cynically left behind from the program and included $1 billion for NYC to help address the influx of asylum seekers in our city.

I fought hard for this budget, but you did too. This victory belongs to all of us — and it’s just the beginning. 

In solidarity,

Andrew Gounardes

Andrew for New York

725 70th Street, Apt C1

Brooklyn, New York 11228

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