{"id":252494,"date":"2026-06-02T18:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/252494\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T18:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:38:11","slug":"free-childcare-nyc-officially-opens-applications-for-first-2-k-seats-this-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/252494\/","title":{"rendered":"Free childcare: NYC officially opens applications for first 2-K seats this September"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flanked by elected officials, child care advocates and a class of children from nearby Sheldon R. Weaver Child Care Center in the Rockaways, Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a> celebrated the launch of their signature partnership in front of a playground at the Rockaway Beach boardwalk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are here together today to celebrate is a direct result of so many New Yorkers who not only dared to imagine a brighter and better future, but who worked tirelessly to deliver it,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

\"AAn organizer carries a baby with pins supporting Mayor Zohran Mamdani and 2-K for all ahead of a press conference on Tuesday, June 2nd at Beach 108 Street and Shore Front Parkway in Rockaway Park. Credit: Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

Through June 26, families with children born in 2024 may apply for the first seats in the city\u2019s universal 2-K program, which will ramp up beginning this fall. The program will kick off with 2,000 seats in school districts in southeast Queens, northern Manhattan, western Bronx and central Brooklyn\u2014 Districts 6, 10, 18, 23 and 27.<\/p>\n

The launch marked an early point in the partnership between Mamdani and Hochul, who had been aligned in pursuing free or low-cost universal childcare. The pair announced the 2-K program just eight days into the Mamdani administration, with $73 million for 2-K programs in NYC pledged in the state budget and a commitment from the governor to expand funding up to $400 million over the next four years, aimed at bringing 2-K to all families in the five boroughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo parent should have to choose between a job they love and a child they can\u2019t afford to care for,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re putting this city and state on a path to universal child care, delivering relief for working families and ensuring every kid gets the strong start they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MayorMayor Zohran Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards play in the sand at Rockaway Beach with children from nearby Sheldon R. Weaver Child Care Center in a Queens school district selected for the first cohort of free 2-K seats. Credit: Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, City Hall launched a public outreach campaign to raise awareness for the program, including mayoral visits to preschools for story time, a 2-K jingle contest collab with rapper Cardi B, and a\u00a02K for 2-K race<\/a> on June 7 at 8 a.m. in Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is truly a pleasure to be here to celebrate this moment, as we embark on a new chapter in our city\u2019s history, a chapter when we make it easier to raise a family in the place that we all love,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

Parents can apply for the 2-K programs through a portal in MySchools.nyc,<\/a> by calling 718-935-2009, or by visiting a Family Welcome Center<\/a>. Families accepted into the inaugural program will be notified in August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Flanked by elected officials, child care advocates and a class of children from nearby Sheldon R. Weaver Child…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[98557,5287,44144,67,87831,895,22925,9,24,63,122,124,123,7821],"class_list":["post-252494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-2k-child-care","tag-child-care","tag-early-childhood-education","tag-education","tag-fiscal-year-2027-state-budget","tag-governor-kathy-hochul","tag-mayor-zohran-mamdani","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-universal-child-care"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252494","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=252494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}