Just like it takes a village to raise a child, state lawmakers said getting a proposed $252 billion spending plan over the finish line requires extensive support from their families that often goes unnoticed.
The state budget, now 23 days, is testing lawmakers' ability to balance work and family as most schools across the state held spring break over the last two weeks — forcing several policymakers to bring their children to Albany as spending negotiations continue.
"I'd rather be in Florida than be here, but this is good enough," said Nikolaos Solages, the 9-year-old son of Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages.
Solages drove Nikolaos and her 3-year-old daughter Christine to be with her at the Capitol as budget work drags on.
Nikolaos has been coming to Albany since he was born, and told Spectrum News 1 he has spent other school breaks in the capital city during some of the Legislature's busiest times of year.
"She's doing too much work," he said looking at his mother with a smile.
Assemblywoman Solages, who chairs the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus, said she balances her family and demanding work life with her husband's support.
And Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie's acceptance of parents in the Legislature has changed the culture since she took office over a decade ago.
"At first, if you were a mother, this place wasn't accessible to you," said Solages, a Democrat from Elmont. "Now, it's a place where motherhood is encouraged. People are having children while being legislators, fathers are bringing up their kids."
Solages' youngest child of three, Christine, said she enjoyed visiting the Assembly floor, but didn't know when the state budget would be finished.
She walked around the Capitol halls towing an Easter bunny backpack she got over the holiday while enjoying a grape lollipop Assembly Sgt. at Arms Wayne Jackson gave her, Solages said, adding he's often quick to give treats to children in the chamber.
Solages served as a lawmaker while pregnant with her three children, and she has continued doing her job even while giving birth.
Last week, Assemblyman Ron Kim recorded a budget update with daughters Olive, Hazel and Autumn, ages 10, 8, and 6, last week while they spent three days of their spring break in the Capitol.
"My dad, Assemblymember Ron Kim and his colleageus are working very hard to make sure that the state budget is coming in the next few days," 10-year-old Olive said in the video, posted on April 15.
Kim said his girls sat next to him on the Assembly floor and loved reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with other lawmakers.
"They love going up and down the stairs of the Capitol and taking pictures and looking at the ceiling and asking a thousand questions I don't have answers to," Kim recalled.
The assemblyman and his wife took their children to Howe Caverns in Schoharie County and the rollerskating rink and VIA Aquarium in Rotterdam during the trip.
Kim said the Legislature has become more open to families or lawmakers having kids around — especially with a late budget.
The assemblyman said it's important all New Yorkers are represented in Albany, including parents, but added there's still work to do for lawmakers to be treated equally as caregivers.
"When you see a man with children, someone always make it sound like you're doing such great work, but when you see a woman lawmaker, they just expect them to be with kids," Kim said.
Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris also turned his 10-year-old daughter's spring break last week into a family trip to Albany.
He carried his infant daughter Zoe, who is 16 months old, onto the Senate floor on April 15.
The Senate leader said he and his wife took their children to local farms and Dave & Busters to spend time together outside budget work. And families of public servants make continuous unspoken sacrifices.
"They have to put up with a lot for us to do this work," Gianaris said. "They have to put up with stresses on our time, or us not being around when we're up here and not home. They're the real heroes of the story."