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Housing and child care costs have dimmed the appeal of New York City for Black parents, and many are heading South.

New York once held out the promise of upward mobility for Black Americans, but now there are signs that the sense of promise has dimmed. From 2010 to 2020, a decade during which the city’s population increased by 629,000 people, the number of Black New Yorkers dropped. The surge was driven by Asian and Hispanic residents who moved here.

The trend is apparent in school enrollments: The number of Black children and teenagers living in the city fell more than 19 percent from 2010 to 2020. Schools have lost children in all demographic groups, but the loss of Black children has been steeper as families have moved elsewhere.

I asked Troy Closson, who with our colleague Nicole Hong wrote about this phenomenon, to explain.

What has prompted the exodus of Black families?

So many families that have left over the past several years have felt the city was becoming too unaffordable, whether because of housing — the rent — or the day-to-day expenses. And on top of that, child care in the city has carried such a huge cost.

They said this is not the place where upward mobility is possible, but it would be if they moved to a different city, to the South.

Why the South? Do families that have moved there feel more fulfilled?

So many things have driven Black families to the South, whether it’s the possibility of having so much more space or just having a backyard for their kids. Whether it’s having, in certain cities, a job market that’s growing. Atlanta is one of the hottest places to be right now. And for some families it’s just about moving somewhere where they feel a deeper connection to the city itself.

A professor in Atlanta whom I talked with was saying that in New York, some Black residents might have never felt a real ownership of many neighborhoods in the city in the way they could in Detroit or Atlanta or another primarily Black city. New York is not just a Black or white city. There are so many different cultures, and that’s part of the draw here. But there were families that wanted to be part of much larger and still-growing Black communities elsewhere.

Many big cities in the Northeast have seen Black families leave over time. Some of those places have Black mayors who have tried to make their cities more affordable and increase homeownership for Black families.

But there is the bigger question of whether how much the movement out of cities is about Black people being pushed out — and something mayors can stop — as opposed to being about a broader pull that the South has on some families.

So there’s a comfort factor in the South?

It’s true that over time, a lot of families that moved to the North during the original great migration felt disillusioned with what they found; some felt like they were bringing their cultures, but didn’t feel a deeper sense of place in many parts of New York. Some have now moved to Dallas and Charlotte and Atlanta, wanting to feel a connection with people who came before them, generations before them.

I don’t think that was the primary motivation for leaving for a lot of the families Nicole and I talked to, but that was in their minds. But some said we just have other friends and a bigger support system in other places.

What does this mean for the school system in New York?

During the first two years of the pandemic, the school district in the city that lost the most students was a largely Black area of Brooklyn. There are a number of reasons for that, but looking at recent enrollment losses, parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn and southeast Queens with higher Black populations often similarly lost more students.

The concern that many Black families had was that over time, if enrollment trends continue and Black students exit the system at higher rates, it would create disparities in resources allocated to certain schools because funding largely follows students in New York. The concern was that schools that lost Black students could see larger cuts to their teaching staffs, to after-school programs and to other offerings.

What about birthrates, which are also declining?

That’s the other big consideration here. Birthrates for Black women have decreased steadily in recent years. I think it plays into what efforts can be made here. Among the people we interviewed, many spoke a lot about a need to devote more programs specifically to low-income and middle-class Black New Yorkers — programs centered around homeownership and closing the racial wealth gap. For families with several kids, being in a small one- or two-bedroom apartment didn’t work anymore, but they said that homeownership was out of reach here. Mayor Adams has focused a lot on making that more accessible for New Yorkers of color, but some experts said efforts need to be more aggressive if we’re going to see more changes.

And building new affordable housing always seems to take time.

I don’t think a lot of families are worried about next year necessarily. I think they’re thinking about five years down the road about what the school system could look like, what the resources could look like and how neighborhoods could continue to change. In some ways, there’s still time to address that. What happens long term is definitely going to be the focus.

Enjoy a mostly sunny day in the high 40s. The evening is mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to the low 30s.

ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING

In effect until Feb. 13 (Lincoln’s Birthday).

The top New York news

One summer evening when you could gratefully feel the mercury descending the thermometer, I spotted a well-dressed man and woman, hand in hand, a half-block ahead of me on my walk around Greenwich Village.

There were lots of reds and yellows in the pattern of her long, cotton skirt, and lots of black in his suit and wide-brimmed hat.

As I was trying to figure out where they were headed — a nightclub, maybe, or some concert I didn’t know about — we came upon a very popular and crowded Mexican takeout place.

A line of customers snaked down the sidewalk, and music blared from two large speakers on either side of the storefront.

The well-dressed couple stopped walking and faced each other, still holding hands. They were discussing something, probably whether to get food to go.

Just then, they gave each other a sweet, soft kiss. He stood still, facing her. She stepped back, gave him a little curtsy and broke into a beautiful dance. Then she took his hand, and he started dancing, too, just as beautifully.

I stood there admiring them. Everyone on line to order food was admiring them as well. When the music paused, the couple paused too.

Everyone in the line started to clap. So did I. The couple gave a quick but ornate bow, kissed each other again sweetly and joined the line to order food. I continued on my walk.

Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B.

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here.

Melissa Guerrero and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com.

College of the Sequoias men's basketball team reduced to one its magic number for clinching no worse than a tie for a fifth straight Central Valley Conference championship with a 71-47 victory over West Hills-Lemoore on Feb. 4 at Porter Field House.

But even more important to Giants coach Dallas Jensen was the team's 16th consecutive victory -- tied with Yuba for the second-longest active streak in the state behind Fullerton's 17 straight -- with Northern California Regional playoff seeding looming in two weeks.

California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association state No. 6-ranked Sequoias improved to 21-3 overall and 10-0 in the CVC, three games ahead of second-place Fresno City and Columbia with four remaining.

"Obviously, we want to win conference. That's one of our big four goals on the season," Jensen said. "But at the end of the day, we know the value of every single game regardless of our lead in the conference or if it's tight. Everything right now plays a big role in where we'll be seeded and where we'll be in the playoffs. Yes, it's nice to have a couple game cushion. But we need to try to win every single time out to get as high a seed as possible. And that's all I'm concerned about."

After the Giants played dominating first halves of their past three games, West Hills-Lemoore (4-6, 11-13) kept this one close through the first 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles trailed by as little as one point (22-21) following a 3-pointer by DJ Torrence at the 3 minute, 22 second mark.

Sequoias, however, opened the second half with a 26-7 run to expand a seven-point lead into a commanding 26-point advantage at 59-33 with 9 minutes and 44 seconds remaining, capped by a basket from Terri Miller (Clovis North High).

The Golden Eagles would get no close than 20 points the rest of the way.

"I thought Lemoore did a really good job of controlling the tempo. Their execution was really good," Jensen said. "I thought we played really good defense tonight. I just thought we looked a step slow. Our tempo looked slow, our decision making looked slow. It wasn't that we played bad, we were just a little slow."

Javohn Garcia (Columbus, Ohio) led the Giants with 17 points, along with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

Tyjean Burrell (Sacramento) was Sequoias' only other player to score in double-figures, finishing with 14 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Miller had nine points, eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal.

Sequoias also received seven points and a rebound from Tre'von Martin (Las Vegas); six points, 11 rebounds and five blocks from Cameron Clark (Snellville, Ga.); six points, six rebounds and two assists from Tyree Gill (Sacramento); four points, eight rebounds, and assist and a steal from Jose Cuello (Harlem, N.Y.); four points, a rebound and a block from Omari Nesbit (Sacramento); two points, three rebounds and a steal from Alex Argandar (Modesto); two points and a steal from George Carter (Stockton); and a rebound and a block from Samuel Bazunga (Paris, France).

"I think we are playing really good basketball (overall,)" Jensen said. "Any conference win is a tough win. We're sitting at 10-0 right now in the conference, so I can't really complain too much. But at the end of the day, our hope is to get better every single time out. So, we don't really look ahead. We worry about going 1-0 every game and just making sure we're making progress and good strides."

The Giants can clinch at least a tie for the CVC title when they play at Porterville (12-12, 6-4) at 7 p.m. Feb. 8.

Sequoias will also play at West Hills-Coalinga (6-18, 0-10) at 6 p.m. Feb. 11; play host to Fresno City (17-5, 7-3) at 7 p.m. Feb. 11; and entertain Reedley (9-15, 3-7) at 7 p.m. Feb. 17 to close the regular season. Admission to games at Porter Field House is $8 general and $5 for seniors and students.

The Northern California Regional playoffs begin Feb. 22, with the Giants looking to make the Final Eight field for the fourth consecutive championship season.

Northside Hospital, in partnership with Urgent Care Group, is excited to announce the opening of two new Health Choice Urgent Care centers—in Braselton on Oct. 19 and in Snellville on Oct. 26.

The Northside Hospital and Urgent Care Group partnership now operates seven Health Choice Urgent Care centers serving the Greater Atlanta communities, including ?ve centers in Gwinnett County. Health Choice Urgent Care has been voted Best of Gwinnett ?ve years in a row.

“This partnership strengthens urgent care resources for the Gwinnett community, which continues to experience remarkable growth,” said Debbie Mitcham, president and CEO of Northside Hospital Gwinnett/Duluth. “Urgent Care Group’s track record in the urgent care ?eld is outstanding, and it ?ts quite well with Northside’s mission and patient care commitment.”

Braselton - Health Choice Urgent Care’s Braselton center is located at 7386 Friendship Springs Blvd., Flowery Branch, GA 30542, across from JAX in the Publix shopping center.

Snellville - Health Choice Urgent Care’s Snellville center is located at 2050 Scenic Highway N, Snellville, GA 30078. The center is next to T-Mobile across from Kohl’s in the Snellville Pavilion shopping center. In 2023, the center will relocate to the new Northside campus adjacent to the Snellville redevelopment project known as The Grove.

“We are pleased to continue to grow our partnership with Northside Hospital through the opening of Health Choice – Braselton and Snellville,” said David Maloney, CEO of Urgent Care Group. “Health Choice will offer these communities access to convenient and affordable on-demand health care. Our team is ready and excited to welcome patients into our new centers.”

Health Choice Urgent Care is delivering top-ranked patient care, seven days per week, from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Additionally, Health Choice centers accept all major insurances, are VA Authorized urgent care providers, and offer affordable self-pay options. For more information about services and locations, please visit www.HealthChoiceUC.com.

About Urgent Care GroupUrgent Care Group’s (UCG) Mission is to provide fast, friendly, and affordable health care in every community. Based in Nashville, UCG was founded in 2017 to create the leading urgent care company. Urgent Care Group partners with premier health systems and excellent providers committed to expanding access to high-quality health care.

The Urgent Care Group Network includes more than 50 centers operating as four brands: Total Access Urgent Care in Missouri, Medac Urgent Care in North Carolina, MEDcare Urgent Care in South Carolina, and Health Choice Urgent Care in partnership with Northside Hospital in Georgia. Urgent Care Group partners with premier health systems and excellent providers committed to expanding high-quality health care.

It's two years late, but members of El Dorado's First Presbyterian Church are finally gathering to celebrate the congregation's 175th anniversary.

It wasn't possible, with covid-19 raging, to properly celebrate the milestone birthday in 2021, so the churchgoers have decided to do it this weekend instead.

Current and former members will gather from 1-3 p.m. today for a welcoming reception. A 9 a.m. celebratory breakfast Sunday will precede the 10 a.m. worship service. A final reception will follow.

The sermon is being delivered John Byerly, who pastored Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Snellville, Ga., after being the El Dorado congregation's youth minister.

The mayor, Paul Choate, has issued a formal proclamation to mark the anniversary.

"We've got a lot of people from out of town coming. We sent invitations to over 400 people ... and so far we've got a pretty good response," said Esther Byrd, chair of the congregation's anniversary committee.

The 97-year-old brick building, topped by an 85-foot-tall carillon tower, will look familiar to anyone returning for the homecoming.

It has towered over East Main Street for as long as anyone can remember. Since 1991, the Collegiate Gothic-style building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building cost $140,000 to build, with $20,000 of that paying for construction and installation of a new pipe organ.

A press report at the time claimed the building could hold 1,000 people.

At its peak, hundreds of worshippers flocked to First Presbyterian Church each Sunday.

Today, attendance averages 50 or 60, according to transitional interim pastor Janice West.

"They are a delightful congregation that asks good questions about faith," she said.

During the anniversary celebration, "They're looking backwards at where they've been but [also] looking forward," she said. "They really are just a great group of people."

A new church history, released in conjunction with the anniversary celebration, tells the congregation's story.

First Presbyterian Church was founded in March 1846. Presbyterians were relative late-comers, arriving in Union County after the Baptists and the Methodists had already put down roots.

A storm destroyed the original building in 1862 and the Civil War scattered the congregation. No longer able to meet, the congregation donated its church bell to the confederate cause, its metal transformed into cannon balls, the church history states.

The church reorganized in 1868, and a new wooden structure was built in 1872, with a larger building erected in 1897.

Early members were suspicious of worldly amusements and considered it a sin to work -- or do much of anything else -- on Sundays.

"Worldly conformity does not persist in our congregation to any great extent, yet some of our members will persist in getting the mail and reading secular papers on the Sabbath," a 1908 church report noted.

In 1919, three of its members helped organize what they called an "anti-carnival committee," the church history states.

After the turn of the 20th century, the congregation remained relatively small and poor.

But the oil boom of 1921 changed that.

Like so much else in El Dorado, First Presbyterian Church experienced exponential growth due to the discovery of major oil and natural gas deposits.

In a single decade, the town's population jumped from 3,887 to 16,421.

With church attendance spiking and wealth flowing into the area, the congregation built a new meeting place in 1926, big enough to host the annual General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States the following year.

Hundreds of lay and elected delegates from 17 southern and southwestern states traveled to El Dorado for the gathering.

The congregation remained robust for most of the 20th century.

Four decades ago, "We had a consistent 200 average [attendance] on Sunday," Byrd said.

Attendance has dropped as children have grown up, gone off to college and moved out of town, she said.

These days, the average age of the congregants is probably 60, she said.

She said she hopes the anniversary celebration will not only rekindle old memories but also help revive the congregation.

This week we delighted at a Labrador struggling to contain his excitement during a trip to see his grandparents and were left in stitches when a cat turned up with lipstick all over his face.

Alongside viral superstars, we've been receiving perfect pet pictures and videos from our readers and have put together out weekly Newsweek Pet of the Week.

If you want your pet to be part of next week's Pet of the Week lineup, scroll to the end of this story to find out how to submit your pictures and videos.

Winner

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Our winner this week is Australian Shepherd Harlo, who lives in DeKalb, Illinois.

Harlo lives on a garlic farm, with his owner Nicole, where he has lots of other animal friends including sheep and his favorite cat Frankie.

"Harlo loves morning walks, he enjoys hanging out with 'his' cat Frankie, and loves a good long game of chuck-it," Nicole told Newsweek.

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Often "helping" around the farm, Harlo is keen to be involved in the day-to-day.

"During lambing season, he loves to be in everyone's business and during the warmer months he loves to join in during livestock watering because, well, the hose water is quite entertaining," Nicole said.

The first Aussie breed that she has ever owned, Nicole said that she is constantly amazed by Harlo's attentive and smart nature.

"He is so smart," she said. "Maybe even too smart. I feel like he understands so much of what we're saying and doing. He never ceases to amaze me."

Finalists

Our first finalists this week are cats Bella and Leo. The 5-month-old kittens live with owner Carol in Snellville, Georgia.

"They have very different personalities," Carol told Newsweek. "Bella is homey but sometimes enjoys the park. She likes being held in my arms like a baby and falls asleep as I hold her. Leo is very independent and does not like being held very long usually and has a huge appetite. Bella is a picky eater."

Next up this week is 5-year-old Pomchi Gelo. Owner Kelley told Newsweek that she "couldn't resist" him when she saw him advertised as a puppy.

"He is truly a one-of-a-kind dog," she told Newsweek. "His personality is massive. He's smart, will eat anything—except dill pickle chips—and sleeps till noon."

Despite weighing only 2 pounds, Kelley said that Gelo is definitely in charge at home.

"[He] loves to bark and is the boss. He rules the roost," she said.

Last but definitely not least this week is 1-year-old wire-haired pointing griffin Rooney.

Living in Vermont with owners John and Doreen Dolan, Rooney loves to run around in the snow and explore.

"Guess we should have named her Tigger," the owners told Newsweek in relation to her high jumps through the powdery snow.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.