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Gov. Hochul, Mayor Mamdani announce push for free child care for NYC 2-year-olds
By
Jessica Gould
,
Jimmy Vielkind
and
Andrew Giambrone
Published Jan 8, 2026
Modified Jan 8, 2026
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Spencer Platt / Getty Images
By
Jessica Gould
,
Jimmy Vielkind
and
Andrew Giambrone
Published Jan 8, 2026
Modified Jan 8, 2026
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New York City children as young as 2 years old could get access to free child care under a proposal Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled Thursday.
The launch of “2-Care” will start in “high-need areas,” officials said, building on the city’s existing pre-K and 3-K programs. The expansion is one part of a multipronged plan to increase state support for child care, which the Democratic governor said is needed to control rising costs of living and keep people in the workforce.
“Families have been crying out for help,” Hochul said at the Flatbush YMCA. “If we can take this stress point off the plate of all the other struggles they have, my friends, then we are making New York state and New York City the best places in the nation to live, to raise a family, to grow a business and to prosper.”
Hochul said Thursday that the state would fully fund the first two years of the city’s 2-Care program. She also announced funding to extend pre-kindergarten programs around the state, expand pre-K and 3-K in New York City, and increase the amount of funding for the state’s existing child care subsidy program.
The plan represents one of the first major moves Hochul and Mamdani are making together to address the city's affordability crisis. It comes in the first few days of the Mamdani administration and as Hochul seeks re-election. Mamdani campaigned for mayor on delivering free child care for kids between 6 weeks and 5 years old, which he has estimated would cost about $6 billion a year.
“This is a day that so many believed would never come, but it is a day that working people across our city have delivered through the sheer power of their hard work and their unwavering belief,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani said he expects the first 2-Care programs will launch in the fall with 2,000 slots and initially cost $75 million. A city official said the new slots would be through an expansion of the city’s current practice of contracting with home-based providers and day care centers. Mamdani promised to make the program universal, serving all families who want a slot for their 2-year-olds, by the end of his administration. Advocates have said a truly universal 2-Care program would have to serve 60,000 children.
Rebecca Bailin, executive director of the organization New Yorkers United for Child Care, called it “a historic moment for New York families.”
“By bringing together the governor and mayor around a shared commitment to child care, tens of thousands of families could finally get the relief they desperately need,” she said in a statement Thursday.
Significant questions remain.
The expansion was announced days after the Trump administration froze about $3.6 billion in federal child care subsidies for the state. The state is also grappling with federal cuts to health care funding.
“The state really needs to be concerned not only about affordability, and that is a major issue, but also our competitiveness and our outmigration,” said Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog. He warned against raising taxes and suggested the state should redirect spending from other areas.
Hochul’s office said the total cost of the new child care pre-kindergarten investments is $1.7 billion, which would be funded with “pre-existing resources.” Democrats including Mamdani have called on the state to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for the program.
Hochul said state receipts were up, and that she would include more details in a budget presentation scheduled for Jan. 20.
“We have managed our finances quite well,” she said. “We have been smart about setting aside money to be able to fund some of my ambitious plans, but within our means.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Tagged
Kathy Hochul
Zohran Mamdani
child care
economy
education
new york city
new york state
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Jimmy Vielkind
Jimmy Vielkind covers how state government and politics affect people throughout New York. He has covered Albany since 2008, most recently as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Jimmy led a team of reporters that won a New York Press Club award for coverage of Andrew Cuomo’s downfall and was on a team that won a Gerald Loeb Award for coverage of Amazon’s HQ2 process. A native of the Capitol Region, Jimmy has two degrees in urban planning. His position is funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Reach Jimmy at [email protected].
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Andrew Giambrone
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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