NYC and LI Parents - Nannies

[Bean606]

We are considering hiring a nanny for DS instead of keeping him in day care. We never considered a nanny before, so we have no idea how much to pay, how to allocate vacation, and what other benefits/perks are customary. Can you NYC and LI moms and dads give us some guidance? We have someone we would consider hiring, but she currently works at a group child care center. We know she isn't getting benefits there, but we don't know how much she is paid, and they get a lot of time off for holidays/vacations. On the flip side, our home is a lot closer and more convenient to her than the child care center, so we think she might take the opportunity for the right arrangement. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[jk3]

We don't have a nanny but a lot of our friends do. They fetch anywhere from $550-1,000/week (for 50-60 hours) depending on the specifics. Nannies who drive make on the higher end of that range. Nannies who don't make less. Some of our friends are paying by the book (including withholding taxes and the like) and some are not. I think looking on Craigslist might be one way to assess how much a nanny might make in your specific area. Hourly it tends to be anywhere between 12-15 dollars for one child and 15-20 for more than one.

[elizabethkott]

It depends on where you are. For example, nannies in Brooklyn are fiercely desired; people will go so far as to give them an unlimited metro card monthly for travel expenses, get them hired cars to drive them home after 9pm and provide breakfast, lunch and dinner (I'm totally not kidding - a co-worker's nanny was "stolen" from her family when another family offered her the metrocard deal!).
Where I am (LI), nannies are getting from $450-$600 a week, M-F. My own nanny works 6:30-4pm (I teach), gets 2 weeks paid vacation, and I do have to keep her during the summer. She is also paid when *we* take vacations, but she does coincide her 2 weeks with 2 of our vacations, so it sort of works out. She is a wonder, and also cleans and does our laundry (we sort of hit the nanny jackpot!). We do pay $12/hour if we need her for more hours, like if I have a school event or something after school. That's also the rate we pay her if she babysits for the rare evening out.
FWIW, I was speaking with her yesterday, and she told me that a lot of her friends who are also nannies have been having their hours either cut back drastically by their families or have been let go entirely, because a lot more people are now WAH or have decided to SAH because of the cost of commuting or have lost their jobs. So not to capitalize on someone else's misfortune, but this might be a good time to score a great nanny who has recently been let go from another position.