The first cohort of New York City’s free child care programs for 2-year-olds will open this fall in five local school districts, Mayor Mamdani and Gov. Hochul were set to announce Tuesday in Upper Manhattan.
The priority areas are Manhattan’s School District 6 in Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood; the Bronx’s School District 10 in Morris Heights, Fordham, Belmont, Kingsbridge and Norwood; Brooklyn’s School Districts 18 and 23 in Canarsie, Ocean Hill and Brownsville; and Queens’ School District 27 in Ozone Park,Richmond Hill, Howard Beach, Woodhaven and Rockaways.
Mamdani said the announcement was “just the beginning of our work to put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets, strengthen our entire economy and help more families build their lives here.”
2-K will launch with 2,000 seats in September, before expanding to 12,000 seats during the 2027-28 school year. The initiative is expected to scale citywide by the end of Mamdani’s first term.
Hochul has allocated $73 million for the first year of the program and $425 million for its second year, without tax hikes. The governor, who is up for re-election in November, has not committed funding in the later years, though she indicated that she plans to continue supporting the program.
“This is how we make New York the best place to start a family and build a future — and we’re just getting started,” the governor said in a statement.
Neighborhoods were selected based on need — including the child poverty rate and lack of child care programs currently — as well as where providers could scale up quickly.
