More than 12,000 children in all five boroughs will have access to 2-K beginning in fall 2027, advancing New York City’s path toward universal child care
Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul expanding 2-K to a majority of all NYC school districts
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the school districts that will receive the next 10,000 2-K seats in fall 2027, expanding the program to every borough, every Bronx school district and all of Staten Island.
Building on the historic launch of 2-K earlier this year and strong demand from families, the expansion will bring free, high-quality, culturally responsive child care and early education to more than 12,000 families beginning in fall 2027. To celebrate the announcement, the Mayor and Governor joined families and child care providers at a Bronx trampoline park to hop, bounce and leap toward a more affordable city for working families.
On the eighth day of his administration, Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul announced the launch of 2-K in five school districts around New York City for fall 2026. Families submitted more than 5,700 applications for the first 2,000 seats. Backed by a $1.2 billion State investment, this expansion advances the City’s vision of universal child care for children from six weeks to five years old.
“For far too many New York City families, the joy of welcoming a child comes with a terrifying set of questions: How will I afford child care? Will I need to give up my job? Will I be forced to leave the city I love? Today, for 10,000 more families, we have an answer,” said Mayor Mamdani. “From Co-op City in the Bronx to Staten Island’s South Shore, we’re bringing 2-K to every borough and making New York City more affordable for working people. Families have told us what they need. Together with Governor Hochul, we are delivering.”
“Generations of parents have had to contend with the stress of child care costs in this city and state – but thanks to our partnership with Mayor Mamdani, that’s changing,” Governor Hochul said. “Last month, we stood together to celebrate the first day of 2-K in New York City, welcoming more than 2,000 kids to their new classrooms. Now, we’re pleased to announce the next phase, expanding the program to 10,000 more families across the city, including all of the Bronx and Staten Island. This is how we deliver real relief for working families, and make sure our kids get the best possible start in life.”
“As an educator and a parent, I know that education begins long before kindergarten. These early years are critical to building the foundation for lifelong learning, curiosity, confidence, and connection," said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. "Universal 2K doesn't just help working New Yorkers, it gives our youngest learners a strong foundation for lifelong learning and success, and I'm proud to be a part of an administration that invests in our families from the very start."
“Expanding 2-K to reach 10,000 additional children is a critical step toward delivering universal child care for all New Yorkers,” said Emmy Liss, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. “We have learned valuable lessons from parents and providers as we launched the first 2,000 seats this year. Continued engagement with families, educators and communities will inform and strengthen the program as we expand.”
The expansion will bring 2-K programs to 17 more of the City’s 32 geographic school districts, covering all five boroughs and bringing the total to 22 school districts. The City will also expand capacity in the five districts already offering 2-K to better meet demand.
In addition to the entirety of the Bronx and Staten Island, the below neighborhoods will newly be receiving 2-K seats:
Manhattan
- School District 4: East Harlem; Randall’s Island
- School District 5: Central Harlem; East Harlem; Manhattanville / West Harlem; Morningside Heights; Hamilton Heights / Sugar Hill
Brooklyn
- School District 16: Bedford-Stuyvesant, including Stuyvesant Heights; as well as parts of northern Crown Heights and Ocean Hill
- School District 17: Crown Heights; Prospect Lefferts Gardens; Wingate; Prospect Heights; Flatbush; East Flatbush; as well as parts of Erasmus, Farragut, Rugby, Remsen Village, Ocean Hill and Brownsville
- School District 19: East New York; New Lots; Cypress Hills; City Line; Spring Creek; Starrett City; as well as parts of Ocean Hill, Brownsville and Canarsie
- School District 20: Bay Ridge; Fort Hamilton; Dyker Heights; Bath Beach; as well as parts of Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Sunset Park, Kensington, Gravesend, Mapleton / western Midwood and western Flatbush
- School District 21: Coney Island; Sea Gate; Brighton Beach; Gravesend; Homecrest; Mapleton / Ocean Parkway; Midwood; as well as parts of Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Madison and western Flatbush
- School District 32: Bushwick; as well as parts of East Williamsburg and northern Bedford-Stuyvesant
Queens
- School District 24: Corona, including North Corona; Elmhurst; Maspeth; Middle Village; Ridgewood; Glendale; Sunnyside; Woodside; as well as parts of Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Rego Park, Woodhaven, Forest Hills and Long Island City
- School District 28: Rego Park; Forest Hills; Kew Gardens; Briarwood; Jamaica Hills; Jamaica; South Jamaica; Richmond Hill; South Richmond Hill; South Ozone Park; Baisley Park; Rochdale Village; Springfield Gardens; as well as parts of Kew Gardens Hills, Hillcrest, St. Albans, Glendale, Corona and Elmhurst
- School District 29: Queens Village; Cambria Heights; Hollis; St. Albans; Laurelton; Rosedale; Springfield Gardens; Brookville; portions of Bellerose, Jamaica Estates, Holliswood, Hillcrest, Jamaica Hills, Jamaica and South Jamaica
The expansion builds on the five districts where 2-K launched in fall 2026: District 6 in Manhattan, District 10 in the Bronx, Districts 18 and 23 in Brooklyn and District 27 in Queens.
Today’s announcement builds on the City’s broader efforts to advance universal child care. The Mamdani administration is moving more than 10,000 children off the child care voucher waitlist and has invested nearly $700,000 in early childhood educator apprenticeships to strengthen the City’s ability to recruit, train and retain educators.
As 2-K expands, the City is also working to ensure child care providers have the support they need to deliver high-quality care. In August, the City announced an overhaul of the New York City Public Schools’ (NYCPS) Division of Early Childhood Education contracting and procurement processes to increase transparency, shorten timelines, improve customer service and create more opportunities for provider input. The City also announced a plan to hire more than 200 new staff members at NYCPS to strengthen the agency’s capacity to deliver these essential services. In September, NYCPS outlined broader procurement reforms to modernize and strengthen its contracting processes.
To help prepare for fall 2027, the City will release a survey for providers that currently contract with NYCPS and a Request for Information (RFI) for new providers interested in offering 2-K services. Both will be released within the next week. Additional information will be available here.
2-K will continue to be offered through center-based child care programs and licensed family child care programs. The default operating model will remain a full-day, full-year program.
More information about the fall 2027 application timeline for families will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information about child care options for children under five in New York City, visit nyc.gov/childcare.
“This dramatic expansion of 2K will help reach neighborhoods across the five boroughs and ensure that our kids have the resources to thrive at an early age, regardless of their zip code or household income,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “By running all day and all year, the program will support and empower working families. I thank the mayor for prioritizing this initiative and issue, and look forward to seeing it ultimately implemented in a way that enables access to everyone seeking a seat.”
“This expansion represents tangible progress towards affordability for working families with kids in New York City, and gives new and prospective parents a stronger reason to stay,” said City Comptroller Mark Levine. “These steps are critical to support our workforce, as they will draw and keep jobs and business here. I look forward to these 2K seats filling up for next fall, and continuing to work alongside Mayor Mamdani, Governor Hochul and others in advancing the effort to bring universal childcare to New Yorkers.”
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