{"id":350268,"date":"2026-09-18T15:22:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T15:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/350268\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T15:22:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T15:22:04","slug":"nyc-preschools-are-finally-getting-paid-now-theyre-bracing-for-next-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/350268\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC preschools are finally getting paid. Now they’re bracing for next month."},"content":{"rendered":"

After severe funding delays<\/a> hampered the launch of Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s free childcare program for 2-year-olds, many providers said they\u2019re finally seeing money in their accounts.<\/p>\n

But others said they\u2019re still waiting for funds more than a week into the school year. One Queens program had to reduce how long their 2-K program is open because they said they have no money to pay staff.<\/p>\n

The Mamdani administration said it’s continuing to quickly process no-interest loan applications<\/a> while staff gets expired contracts and new agreements approved. City officials said all completed loan applications submitted before the first day of school, about 400, were approved and more than half the contracts, about 700, are registered or with the city comptroller.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working around the clock to make sure that we can get providers what they need. We are grateful to have made so much progress and we know our work is not done,\u201d said Emmy Liss, executive director of the Mayor\u2019s Office for Child Care.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond this, our commitment is to rebuild our systems and structure to ensure that we don\u2019t see something like this ever happen again and the city can be the contracting partner that our providers deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rollout of 2-K is one of Mamdani\u2019s highest-profile pledges and the first major step toward building the universal childcare system he promised. While prior administrations have routinely issued late payments to the city\u2019s contracted childcare providers, providers said they usually have money to start the school year. Without that funding, some providers opened their doors owing rent and in debt, while at least one site delayed welcoming children back by a week.<\/p>\n

The late payment crisis is putting a spotlight on a broken system of lagging payments, wage disparities<\/a> and outdated contract rates that providers say needs to be fixed for Mamdani\u2019s childcare expansion to work. The mayor wants to grow 2-K to 12,000 seats next year, up from 2,000 and eventually offer free care for every 2-year-old by the end of his first term.<\/p>\n

Now, providers said they\u2019re starting to worry about making payroll and rent next month. Some are even applying for a second round of city loans, in case their contracts aren\u2019t approved in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryday I\u2019m emailing somebody, fighting with somebody, yelling with somebody,” said Theresa Rawdon, a Queens provider offering 2-K. She said she\u2019s received a city loan to pay for her 3-K and preK programs and finally received her 2-K loan on Thursday. But she\u2019s still waiting on an approved contract.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is liable if something happens to one of these children? I\u2019m a nobody, I\u2019m a schmuck that has 12 2-year-olds screaming in a classroom with no money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the problem this year was that many of the city\u2019s contracted childcare providers who offer free programs had their contracts expire this summer. City officials said that\u2019s about 1,800 contracts. Though payments can be late, providers usually have an advance on their contracts or a city loan to kick off the year.<\/p>\n

Without the funds, providers couldn\u2019t buy supplies, pay rent or staff, or afford to get their classrooms ready for incoming toddlers. One Brooklyn preschool that delayed the first day of school finally reopened this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in this business and it\u2019s getting worse, it should be a walk in the park for me and every year they make it harder and harder,\u201d said Linda Indelicato, who runs a 3-K and pre-K program on Staten Island and is still waiting for her contract or a $200,000 loan to get approved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tell us how much they need us but we\u2019re not appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n

City officials have reassigned staffers to bolster the city\u2019s Department of Education, which is processing contracts. Childcare advocates said the agency had been hollowed out in recent years and doesn\u2019t have enough staff to review old and new contracts, adding to the delay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we experienced in these last two weeks, I think, is a fraction of how bad the problem can get with an even larger workforce if we don’t figure this out in 2026,\u201d said Councilmember Jennifer Guti\u00e9rrez, who chairs the Council\u2019s early childhood education subcommittee.<\/p>\n

She said if the city wants to successfully make childcare universal, it needs to start building trust with providers to get them to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want to be a part of universal childcare, it is to their benefit, it’s to their families\u2019 benefit, their community’s benefit. But they are very fearful for their business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Join WNYC’s All Things Considered for a live event on Sept. 30 focused on childcare affordability. The event will feature parents, childcare providers and policymakers, to explore solutions that can help families stay and thrive in New York City.<\/p>\n

The event takes place at the Snug Harbor Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art on Staten Island. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the event begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are free, but registration is required. For more information and to register, visit wnyc.org\/events<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After severe funding delays hampered the launch of Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s free childcare program for 2-year-olds, many providers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-350268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350268","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=350268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}