What neighborhoods will be the first to get free 2-K seats?
Four communities across the city will be the first to receive 2,000 free childcare seats for two-year olds this fall as part of Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul's goal of universal childcare.
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The first four districts to receive free 2-K seats this fall have been revealed.
With funding support from Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that the city would be opening up 2,000 free childcare seats for families with two-year-olds this year.
"This is going to be transformative for families for generations to come, because it is offering free childcare for two-year-olds to parents that would otherwise have to spend more than $20,000 a year just for this very same service," said Mayor Mamdani.
The districts include:
• School District 6: Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights and Inwood
• School District 10: Fordham, Belmont, Norwood, Morris Heights, Van Cortlandt Village and Kingsbridge
• School Districts 18 and 23: Canarsie, Remsen Village, Brownsville and Ocean Hill
• School District 27: Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Howard Beach, Woodhaven and Rockaways
City hall says the locations were selected based on economic need, demand, existing access caps and provider capacity and readiness.
"There was a look to the infrastructure in these communities and also the economic need within these communities as a place that we start," the mayor said.
Governor Hochul promised more than $1.2B to support Mamdani's universal childcare plan earlier this year, with $73M to fund the first rollout of 2-K seats, increasing to $425M next year.
The mayor says next year they will be delivering 12,000 seats and by the end of the next four years expand capacity to have a seat for every two-year-old in New York City.
"We will put out a request for information, an RFI to childcare providers to see both their capacity and their interest so we can build alongside them, the second is the recognition for the immense amount of work that they do as well as what childcare workers are doing," the mayor said.
Services will begin in September, with rolling enrollment throughout the fall to accommodate children who will turn two at different points throughout the year. Exact locations are still being determined as the city is working with childcare centers and family providers.
