Editor’s note: The video above aired on April 17, 2025.
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani are partnering to launch free child care for 2-year-old children in New York City.
Hochul’s State of the State proposal will cover nearly 100,000 children and includes efforts to make Pre-K universally available statewide, along with creating universal 3-K access in the city. The program will focus on high-need areas in its first year before it’s expanded across New York City, according to Hochul.
“There’s one thing that every family in New York can agree on, the cost of childcare is simply too high,” she said in a statement.
Part of the proposal includes expanding child care subsidies to tens of thousands more New York families.
“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,” Mamdani said in a statement.
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
The goal is for all 4-year-old children in New York state to have Pre-K access by the 2028-2029 school year, according to Hochul.
It’s unclear when parents can start enrolling their 2-year-olds for free child care. The state will fund the first two years of the program.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.
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