By Tangerine Clarke
Brooklyn resident Art Chang,
a child of Korean immigrants,
who co-founded NYC Votes,
a voter engagement platform
providing online information
for New York City voters and
tools for candidates running
for office, has joined the long
list of candidates for New York
city mayor.
Chung, who has a history
of working between the public
and private sectors, always
in the service of moving the
public interest forward, brings
35 years of experience leading
technology companies and
innovative ideas to City Hall,
will focus his campaign on Universal
Childcare support as a
critical intersectional issue.
The father of two has seen
first-hand how available childcare
improves “our communities
at large.”
“Universal Childcare support
can level the playing field for
working parents, ensure children
have access to more consistent
food and care pivotal to
development, save parents an
average of $10,000 each year,
and create $14.3B in new economic
IN SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS AWARDED ANNUALLY
Caribbean Life, F 6 ebruary 19-25, 2021
activity,” said Chang.
By leveraging the Community
Based Organization model,
Chang envisions expanding
both home-based and institutional
providers while safely
re-opening existing childcare
centers closed by the pandemic,
streamlining licensing of new
providers and facilities, and
enhancing training.
One of the most extensive
possibilities exists in shifting
government oversight from
reactive & punitive to proactive
& collaborative.
As an experienced technologist,
Chang will enable mobile
technology to make the system
user-friendly, easy to navigate,
and fair for everyone in New
York City.
By including all stakeholders
in the planning and administration
of the facilities and
treating parents as partners in
the process, a Chang administration
would prioritize childcare
“deserts” first and gradually
roll out more facilities across
the city.
“Data shows us that especially
areas in Brooklyn, the Bronx,
Upper Manhattan, and Queens
lack access to childcare,” said
Chang, “In New York City, the
average childcare worker would
have to spend 57.5 percent of
their monthly wages to put
their own children in childcare.”
“Childcare should not be a
privilege for the wealthy but a
right for all; under the de Blasio
administration, the city budget
ballooned by over $20 billion.”
“Perhaps $1.5 billion of that
went to Universal Pre-K. Where
did the rest go? It’s time for
us to make a direct and real
impact on people’s lives, rather
than just increase bureaucracy,”
said Chang.
“Before COVID, fewer than 10
percent of families could afford
childcare. During COVID, the
demand has only grown while
the supply has shrunk, forcing
women to choose between
Mayoral candidate Art Chang. Paul Ninson
jobs outside the home and care
giving.”
He noted that in December
2020 alone, 100 percent of the
net jobs lost were by women.
“And as we see all around us
among our friends and family,
a pandemic baby boomlet
is about to hit. Rebuilding our
city begins with the children
whose lives are just starting,”
he said.
Art Chang joins long list of
candidates for mayor
BEST NATIONAL
UNIVERSITY
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
BEST BUSINESS
SCHOOL
THE PRINCETON REVIEW
BEST NORTHEASTERN
UNIVERSITY
THE PRINCETON REVIEW
APPLY TODAY AT LIU.EDU/APPLY
/APPLY
