New York City’s 2-K program is expanding with 10,000 more seats being added across every borough.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that more than 12,000 children across the city will have access to 2-K starting in fall 2027.
The initial rollout of the free childcare program for 2-year-olds included 2,000 seats for residents of Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. Staten Island was notably left out.
Now, all of Staten Island and every Bronx school district will have 2-K seats available. The city is also expanding capacity in the five districts already offering the program.
“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,” Mamdani said. “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.”
More than 5,700 families applied for the initial program, which operated on a full-day, full-year schedule. It runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 260 days a year.
The state funded the first 2,000 seats and previously said it would pay for the program’s first two years.
Each seat is expected to save families an average of $26,000 a year.
More information about the fall 2027 application timeline will be announced in the coming weeks, according to city officials.
The following school districts will have 2-K seats in addition to every district on Staten Island and in the Bronx:
Manhattan
School District 4: East Harlem; Randall’s IslandSchool 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 HillSchool 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 BrownsvilleSchool District 19: East New York; New Lots; Cypress Hills; City Line; Spring Creek; Starrett City; as well as parts of Ocean Hill, Brownsville and CanarsieSchool 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 FlatbushSchool 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 FlatbushSchool 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 CitySchool 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 ElmhurstSchool 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
More from CBS News