{"id":124700,"date":"2026-02-06T02:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T02:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/124700\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T02:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T02:44:11","slug":"mamdanis-first-100-days-mayor-open-door-to-new-3k-and-2k-providers-after-five-year-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/124700\/","title":{"rendered":"MAMDANI\u2019S FIRST 100 DAYS: Mayor open door to new 3k and 2k providers after five-year freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"District\t\t\t<\/p>\n

District 2 pre-K students take over the mini podium as Mayor Mamdani unveils plans for the city\u2019s new 2K child care program<\/p>\n

Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

Thursday, Feb. 5, marked the 36th day of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s term as mayor<\/a>. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city\u2019s finances. Here\u2019s a summary of what the mayor did today.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> announced on Thursday the first step toward a new citywide child care program for two-year-olds \u2014 opening a request for information to recruit providers for both the existing 3K system and a new \u201c2K\u201d program.<\/p>\n

The announcement took place at City Hall\u2019s Blue Room, where the mayor and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels were flanked by a group of District 2 pre-K students who had been invited to participate. The event was framed as another step toward the mayor\u2019s goal of implementing universal child care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe speak often about New York\u2019s greatest or New York\u2019s strongest or New York\u2019s finest. Today, however, I\u2019m thrilled to welcome what are surely New York\u2019s cutest,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n

The children crawled around the room, chatted among themselves, and occasionally drifted toward a miniature podium and its microphones as officials laid out the plan. At several points, the briefing veered into preschool territory as the mayor called on the children to answer pressing questions, including what their favorite animals were, before returning to the policy rollout.<\/p>\n

The administration said it is launching a request for information (RFI) inviting new providers to apply to offer 3K services for the first time in five years, while also opening the door for centers to participate in the city\u2019s new 2K program.<\/p>\n

The mayor said existing providers are being surveyed about whether they want to expand their capacity or add 2K seats. Responses to the RFI and surveys of providers and families will help determine where those seats are located.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor five years, new providers have been cut off from contributing to our programs,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cToday, we say no more.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Mamdani said the city plans to deliver 2,000 seats for two-year-olds by the end of this year and expand to roughly 12,000 seats next year.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City School Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced the status of child care for all and 2 to pre-k on Feb, 5, 2026.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell \"\"Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

The provider application window is open now and runs through Feb. 19. Families with children turning three or four this year can apply for 3K and pre-K through Feb. 27, and the mayor emphasized the process is not first-come, first-served.<\/p>\n

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the RFI marks the first step toward implementing 2K while expanding 3K, and stressed that the system depends on community-based providers. She urged centers to apply, saying they are essential to delivering high-quality early childhood education across the city.<\/p>\n

Mamdani said the expansion is tied to a partnership with Gov. Kathy Hochul that will provide more than $1 billion toward universal child care. He pointed to that collaboration when asked\u00a0earlier in the day about his endorsement of the\u00a0governor\u2019s reelection campaign<\/a>, saying the funding commitment made the expansion possible,\u00a0even as they continue to disagree on tax policies for the city\u2019s millionaires and corporations.<\/p>\n

Childcare: Mamdani vows to root out bad actors<\/p>\n

The mayor was also asked about allegations at a Bright Horizons child care<\/a> site near Columbus Circle, where former employees have been charged with child endangerment and other offenses tied to abuse allegations.<\/p>\n

The mayor said the city terminated that center\u2019s pre-K and 3K contract and that the Health Department is seeking to revoke its permits to operate following earlier reporting from CBS that an employee allegedly put a cleaning solution containing bleach in a classroom water pitcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter careful review of them, New York City Public Schools terminated its pre-K and 3K contract with the center and has taken immediate steps to remove the program from our system,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take a stand against any provider who is not following the city\u2019s high standards for health and safety,\u201d he said, noting temporary closures at several Bright Horizons sites and promising continued inspections and responses to complaints.<\/p>\n

He added that all new providers signing up for the new scheme will undergo background checks, inspections and unannounced follow-ups in response to complaints.
\n\"\"Photo by Lloyd Mitchell\n<\/p>\n

Advocates for expanded early childhood programs praised the announcement later on Thursday.<\/p>\n

New Yorkers United for Child Care said the move marked a sharp shift from the previous year\u2019s fights over 3K and pre-K funding, calling it a sign of a renewed commitment to universal child care. The group\u2019s executive director, Rebecca Bailin, said the administration has focused on outreach to families and is now taking concrete steps to grow the system, adding that many parents still cannot afford child care and that the city needs to move quickly to expand access.<\/p>\n

Despite the occasional interruptions from the children, officials described the RFI as a concrete first step toward a new, publicly supported child care system that would eventually start at age two. More details about seat locations and the 2K application process are expected later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"District 2 pre-K students take over the mini podium as Mayor Mamdani unveils plans for the city\u2019s new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[54289,54290,3208,42784,41579,36610,9,24,55,54,56],"class_list":{"0":"post-124700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-2k","9":"tag-3k","10":"tag-childcare","11":"tag-first-100-days","12":"tag-kamar-samuels","13":"tag-mayor-mamdani","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","17":"tag-new-york-city-news","18":"tag-ny"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}