2,000 New York City 2-year-olds are getting free child care in these 4 communities
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled on Tuesday the first four New York City communities that will receive 2,000 free child care seats for 2-year-olds.
"Raising a family in New York shouldn't feel like a luxury, and today we're taking another significant step to deliver universal child care," Hochul said. "Earlier this year, Mayor Mamdani and I stood together to announce the state's historic investment in New York City's 2-K program, delivering free child care for 2-year-olds across the city. 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 first areas that will be eligible are:
- Manhattan's School District 6: Washington Heights, Inwood, Hamilton Heights, and parts of Manhattanville
- School District 10 in the Bronx: Fordham, Belmont, Norwood, Marble Hill, Morris Heights, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Van Cortlandt Village and Kingsbridge, and parts of Kingsbridge Heights, Bedford Park, Mount Hope, Claremont-Bathgate and East Tremont
- Brooklyn's School Districts 18 and 23: Canarsie, Rugby-Remsen Village, Brownsville and Ocean Hill, and parts of East Flatbush-Farragut and Prospect Lefferts Garden-Wingate
- School District 27 in Queens: Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Howard Beach and Rockaways, and parts of Lindenwood and Springfield Gardens North
Earlier Tuesday, Mamdani released a statement saying, in part, "Launching 2-K in these four neighborhoods is 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."
He expanded on that later in the afternoon, saying, "It will place at least $20,000 per child back in the pockets of parents across our city, and will make it possible for countless parents to return to the careers they love."
Applications for the first 2,000 seats will open this summer.
Program fully funded for 2 years
The governor and mayor have made it no secret they hope to one day implement universal child care across the five boroughs. Tuesday's announcement marked what they characterized as a major milestone as they move toward that goal, which they first revealed back in early January.
"As New York's first mom Governor, achieving affordable, universal child care has been a key priority for my administration and we are doing the work to see it through," Hochul said in a statement. "That's why we didn't hesitate to partner with New York City to lay the groundwork and fund not one, but two years to realize the full implementation of free child care for all 2-year-olds across the city."
What the 2-K program costs
Hochul has said the state will fully fund the new program for the first two years. The first 2,000 seats come with a price tag of $73 million, and the state is prepared to spend up to $425 million next year.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said in a statement the city and state are making good on promises.
"The launch of 2-K reflects our commitment to reaching families with the greatest need and building a system that grows to serve every child in every community," Samuels said. "We are opening the doors for thousands of two-year-olds and their families, delivering free, full-day care and early learning and paving the way for bright futures from our students' earliest ages."
Staten Island "left out in the cold"
What was announced Tuesday is just the first phase of what the mayor said will grow to include 12,000 children across all five boroughs next year before eventually expanding to all school districts citywide. However, noticeably absent from the first phase is Staten Island.
Borough President Vito Fossella says after his residents waited days for snow plows to clear parts of Staten Island impacted by last week's blizzard, they will now wait longer than the other boroughs for 2-K.
"Last week, we were left out in the snow. This week we're left out in the cold," Fossella said. "If there was a plan to put these things in place, shouldn't there [have] been a negotiation conversation to try to identify locations?"
Mamdani said the first phase is the result of partnerships with existing child care providers.
"These determinations were made, in part, on a reflection of which neighborhoods had those providers ready to go before the end of this year and as a reflection of economic need," Mamdani said.
