Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo claimed credit Monday for the creation of New York City’s universal pre-K program, an initiative that’s widely viewed as the brainchild of his longtime political nemesis, ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Cuomo, who’s running as an independent candidate in November’s election for New York City mayor, staked out his position during an appearance on WNYC after being asked if he agrees de Blasio spearheaded the 2014 launch of the popular early childhood education program.
“No, he didn’t,” replied Cuomo, who as governor frequently clashed with de Blasio. “The state did it — I did it.”
The city’s universal pre-K program, which provides free full-day child care for every 4-year-old in the five boroughs, got off the ground in September 2014 after de Blasio made it the main objective of his early days as mayor.
Administered by the city Department of Education, the program’s launch was undergirded by a hefty tranche of funding included in that year’s state budget, meaning Albany played a key role in getting the initiative across the finish line. However, the program itself was proposed and designed by de Blasio’s administration, and the former mayor has long said Albany, including then-Gov. Cuomo, only came around to backing a state funding increase after relentless advocacy from his City Hall team.
Asked for clarity on Cuomo’s radio comments, his spokesman Rich Azzopardi said the ex-governor was referring to a small-scale pre-K pilot program he launched on the state level in 2013 before de Blasio became mayor. Azzopardi also took a shot at de Blasio for initially pushing Albany for a state-level tax increase on the wealthy to bankroll the universal pre-K program.
“His point was that de Blasio wanted a tax increase for the sake of a tax increase, and Gov. Cuomo was able to build upon the pilot program he launched prior to de Blasio’s election and deliver those pre-K slots not only to the city, but also the rest of the state with existing resources,” Azzopardi said.
De Blasio didn’t immediately return a request for comment Monday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza announce 3,257 families are receiving offers to free, full-day, high-quality 3-K for All across six community school districts, May 23, 2018. (Ed Reed / Mayoral Photography Office)
Some de Blasio defenders stepped in to accuse Cuomo of rewriting history in light of his radio remarks.
City Council Finance Committee Chairman Justin Brannan, who as a senior city Department of Education official helped with the rollout of universal pre-K, said Cuomo’s comments made him feel like his “head is going to explode.”
“And I built the Verrazzano Bridge with my bare hands,” Brannan added.
“Andrew Cuomo lives in his own reality. Facts don’t matter,” Ana Maria Archila, the New York Working Families Party’s co-director, piled on in a post on X. “He makes up stories and then just expects people to fall in line.”
In a press conference held this past April to celebrate a funding increase for the pre-K program, de Blasio hinted at the grueling battle his administration got into with Cuomo’s administration in 2014.
“I went to Albany, and I found a door that was closed quite often and a lack of support — and we had to fight and fight and fight to finally get what our children deserved,” he said at that press conference. “You either stand for early childhood education or you don’t, and I just think everyone’s record should be remembered.”
The 2014 feud is reemerging at a time Cuomo faces a deja vu of sorts over policies related to taxation and childcare — albeit from a very different angle.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor who’s polling as the favorite to win November’s election, has proposed vastly expanding free childcare in the city so that kids between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years are entitled to it. In order to fund such a drastic expansion, Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has proposed increasing taxes on corporations and millionaires.
Cuomo and other critics of Mamdani, including Mayor Adams, who’s also running as an independent in November’s election, have argued Mamdani’s proposals are unrealistic, saying, in particular, that there’s no way Gov. Hochul and state lawmakers will agree to tax hikes next year.
In his WNYC appearance, Cuomo — who raised taxes on millionaires in 2021 — reiterated his belief that Mamdani wouldn’t be able to secure any tax hikes in Albany in 2026.
“That is not going to happen,” said Cuomo, who resigned as governor in August 2021 amid sexual and professional misconduct accusations he denies.
With Cayla Bamberger
Originally Published: July 28, 2025 at 2:17 PM EDT