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Mamdani adds more free preschool slots for 3-year-olds as parents await offers

By

Karen Yi

Published May 18, 2026

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Children stand on stage for a press conference on Universal Childcare at the Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling on March 03, 2026 in New York City. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani was joined by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Kamar H. Samuels, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, as they announced the first phase of Universal Child Care that will begin this fall for children under five years of age across the state.

 

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

By

Karen Yi

Published May 18, 2026

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani is adding more free preschool seats for New York City's 3-year-olds this fall, doubling his initial commitment, for a total of 2,000 new slots.

The additional seats will help rectify problems across the city’s 3-K program where children could be assigned to programs far from their homes and certain neighborhoods had long waitlists, while others had empty seats.

The announcement comes a day before parents across the five boroughs will receive their 3-K offers from the city. It’s the latest move by the Mamdani administration to expand childcare options, including opening previously vacant preschool facilities, encouraging more families to participate in the city’s free preschool programs and launching free care for 2-year-olds in September.

“We made a promise to New Yorkers: We would fix the 3-K system and build a city where every family can count on affordable, high-quality childcare. Today, we’re delivering on that promise,” Mamdani said in a statement.

“Over the past few months, we have opened nine previously vacant childcare centers, added thousands of 3-K seats where families need them most and started rebuilding trust with working families across this city. And we’re just getting started,” he added.

City officials said the new 3-K seats that were added after the application process ended for parents will be available through a waitlist process.

Families will be notified if there are new seats available in their area, and interested parents can add themselves to a waitlist for the new locations starting Monday by visiting the application portal on myschools.nyc. Parents will be notified starting next week if their child received a placement.

Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year committed $100 million toward fixing 3-K and promised to fund childcare expansion efforts. The added 2,000 seats cover most of the city’s school districts across 56 ZIP codes in areas where demand was not being met.

The city’s 3-K program typically covers six hours of care throughout the school year from September to June. Families can pay out of pocket for additional extended hours if the program offers it.

Most of the added 3-K seats will be offered through community-based providers.

Applications for the program for 2-year-olds, known as 2-K, will open June 2. Most of those programs will run year round and operate for the full working day, or 10 hours.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify when parents will be notified if their child receives a 3K placement.

Tagged

Zohran Mamdani

childcare

economy

education

new york city

prekindergarten

Karen Yi

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Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.

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