Mamdani Begins NYC's 2-K Rollout with 2,000 Free Seats

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the first 2,000 seats of a free universal 2-year-old child care program (2-K), to be rolled out this fall across four boroughs in neighborhood clusters including Canarsie, Washington Heights, Fordham and the Rockaways. The aim is to expand to about 12,000 seats next fall and 55,000 once fully built, with state funding from Gov. Hochul for the initial year; however, long-term funding, worker pay, and staffing costs remain unresolved as the city scales up universal access.