NEW YORK, N.Y. — New York City’s free child care program for 2-year-olds will grow to roughly six times its current size in fall 2027, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announcing Monday that 10,000 new 2-K seats will go to every school district in the Bronx and all of Staten Island, along with a dozen districts in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
The pair made the announcement at a trampoline park in the Bronx. Staten Island had no 2-K seats when the program opened this fall, and the mayor said the whole borough will now be included.
The first round of 2,000 seats opened in September in five districts: Manhattan’s District 6, the Bronx’s District 10, Brooklyn’s Districts 18 and 23, and Queens’ District 27. Families filed more than 5,700 applications for those spots.
Next year’s expansion adds 17 of the city’s 32 geographic school districts, for a total of 22. New Manhattan seats go to Districts 4 and 5, covering East Harlem, Central Harlem and Morningside Heights. Six Brooklyn districts join, numbered 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 and 32, reaching from Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick to Bay Ridge and Coney Island. Queens adds Districts 24, 28 and 29, including Corona, Forest Hills, Jamaica and Queens Village. The five original districts will also get more room.
The state is putting $1.2 billion behind the expansion. By the city’s estimate, a family avoids more than $25,000 in yearly costs for each child enrolled. The program stays full-day and year-round, offered through child care centers and licensed family child care homes.
How many seats each district receives will depend on how many providers sign up and how much demand officials expect. Within a week, the city plans to send a survey to current providers and issue a request for information to new ones. Details on how families can apply for fall 2027 are expected in the coming weeks.
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Filed under: New York NY Education News
