N.Y. Gov. Hochul, NYC Mayor Mamdani unveil free child-care plan for 2-year-olds

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani have announced a plan to offer free child care for 2-year-olds across New York City.

With universal pre-K and 3-K in New York City, Mamdani and Hochul will age the program down to offer free child care for 2-year-olds in New York City.

“Over the past 14 months, a movement was born to fight for a city where every New Yorker could afford a life of dignity and every family could afford to raise their kids. Today, Governor Hochul and I meet that movement as we celebrate our joint commitment to universal child care,” said Mamdani, during a press conference on Thursday. “This victory represents much more than a triumph of city and state government working in partnership — it is proof that when New Yorkers come together, we can transform the way government serves working families.”

It’s currently unclear when free child care for 2-year-olds in New York City will be implemented.

Hochul has committed to fully fund universal child care for 2-year-olds in New York City for the first two years of the city’s implementation.

The first year of the program will focus on high-need areas selected by New York City and expand to serve all interested families across the city by its fourth year of implementation.

Additionally, the governor will partner with Mamdani to strengthen and fix the city’s 3-K program and ensure it provides universal access.

“There’s one thing that every family in New York can agree on, the cost of childcare is simply too high,” said Hochul. “As New York’s first mom Governor, fighting for New York’s families has always been at the core of my agenda. Since taking office, I’ve put families front and center, fighting to make our state more affordable and laying the groundwork to deliver universal childcare. Today, I’m proud to partner with Mayor Mamdani and leaders across our state to make this a reality, turning that foundation into a concrete roadmap that will transform the lives of working parents and kids across our state.”

Hochul also announced she will provide additional support to ensure truly universal pre-K for all 4-year-olds in New York state by the start of the 2028-2029 school year.