NYC moved closer to universal child care as Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Monday that 2,000 more 3-K child care seats will open for families across the five boroughs in time for the 2026-2027 school year this September.
Most of the expansion will take place through partnerships with community-based child care providers. Officials said the additional capacity is aimed at improving access – and location convenience – to affordable care while addressing the continued demand from working families.
As part of the rollout, the city plans to launch a waitlist process that allows parents to inquire about newly added sites while prioritizing their preferences, including proximity to programs.
The expansion builds on the mayor’s first round of free 3-K toddler seats, which he announced in March on Staten Island. Although some borough residents initially felt left out of the city’s free 2-K child care program for 2-year-olds, the mayor at the time said the program was based on demand and the ability to roll it out quickly.
Staten Island has one sprawling school district; launching boroughwide in a short period of time would have strained provider capacity and risked undermining the program’s stability, Mamdani explained at the time.
Meanwhile, the administration also announced on May 18 the opening of a new early childhood education center in Brooklyn’s Columbia Waterfront neighborhood, adding 63 new 3-K and pre-K seats.
“On day eight of this administration, we made a promise to New Yorkers: we would fix the 3-K system and build a city where every family can count on affordable, high-quality child care. Today, we’re delivering on that promise,” Mamdani said. “Over the past few months, we have opened nine previously vacant child care centers, added thousands of 3-K seats where families need them most and started rebuilding trust with working families across this city. And we’re just getting started.”
City officials explained that 700 new 3-K seats were added after the main application deadline passed on April 24. Instead of automatically giving those spots away, families can join a waitlist for the programs they want.
While all families who applied to 3-K are expected to receive an offer on Tuesday, the waitlist process will allow families to express interest in newly available sites and potentially receive an offer at a preferred program closer to home.
As seats open up, the city will offer them to families based on factors like where they live, whether they already have a sibling in the program and availability.
“We are excited to continue strengthening and expanding 3-K so that more children across all five boroughs can benefit from the joyful, engaging learning experiences these programs provide,” NYC Public Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said. “By adding seats and opening new centers, we are building on our commitment to making early childhood education more accessible for New York City families and giving our youngest learners a strong start from day one.”
More information about the new seats, waitlists and the city’s child care programs is available at myschools.nyc.