It’s a big day in New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani just announced major investments in free and affordable child care across the city and state. I just got back to my desk after spending the morning at the YMCA in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where the duo teamed up to make the announcement.
It’s a huge political win for Mamdani, who is only on Day 8 of the job and promised universal child care throughout his campaign. New York City will for the first time launch “2-care,” which ages down existing child care programs to 2-year-olds. Paid for out of the state’s budget, it’ll be available in high-need areas first.
It’s also a major move by Hochul, who has been working on this issue since before Mamdani came on the scene. She highlighted that she’s already spent $8 billion on child care in New York. These new initiatives allocate an additional $1.7 billion for a total of $4.5 billion in the state’s 2027 budget.
I tagged along today with Reshma Saujani, the founder of the advocacy organization Moms First, who has been lobbying to expand access to child care—with a special focus on bringing the business community on board—and has worked with Hochul since 2023. She calls this news a “turning point for families across the state.” Outside New York City, child care access lags behind programs available in NYC, so Hochul’s statewide investments focus on expanding universal pre-K.
