Free child care center being built for NYC workers, Mayor Mamdani announces
Municipal workers across the city will be able to get free child care at a new center being built.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made the announcement about the pilot program Monday morning. He said the center will be housed at the David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building downtown.
It will provide full-day care for children ranging from 6 weeks to 3 years old. All workers based out of the building are eligible and any other Department of Citywide Administrative Services employees, regardless of location. Applications open April 30.
"We never want city workers to have to choose between a job that they love and raising their kids and the family in the city they call home," Mamdani said.
Building undergoing multi-million dollar renovation
The program will operate on the ground floor of the building's North Tower and provide year-round care for 40 kids. It will run from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A $10 million renovation is underway to construct the 4,000-square-foot child care facility. It's expected to be completed in the fall.
The first child care center for municipal workers will be 100% free, the mayor said.
City comptroller Mark Levine said the program will help solve many problems for working parents.
"You can commute together, you can drop them off before you go in, you can come down on your lunch hour and be there right at the end of the day for pick up," he said.
3-K program expanded across NYC
The announcement comes three weeks after the mayor announced 1,000 new 3-K seats were going to be available for residents.
The program offers free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. It was expanded to 56 zip codes across the five boroughs.
"For too long, families were promised universal 3-K but offered seats miles away, forcing them to pay out of pocket for child care or leave the city," Mamdani previously said. "By making 3-K truly universal, we're building a city where every New Yorker can afford to raise a family."
The mayor said Monday more 3-K is comingg.
Mamdani said the program will save parents an estimated $20,000 a year per child and help them stay in the city.
Applications for fall are closed. Residents have until April 24 to make any updates to an existing application.
Initial phase of 2-K program launched
The mayor and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the first four communities receiving 2,000 free child care seats for 2-year-olds on March 3.
Areas in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn were part of the rollout.
Hochul said the state will fully fund the new program for the first two years. The first 2,000 seats cost $73 million, and the state is prepared to spend up to $425 million next year.
Applications will open this summer.
