NYC’s 2-K program set to expand to the Bronx and Staten Island

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is making progress on his campaign promise to deliver universal childcare. At a press conference Monday at a trampoline park in the Bronx, the mayor, along with Gov. Kathy Hochul, will announce an additional 10,000 seats in the city’s free childcare program for two-year-olds, which will include an expansion to all five boroughs for the 2027-2028 school year. Much of the Bronx and all of Staten Island were not included in this school year’s initial 2,000-seat launch of free 2-K.

Days after his inauguration in January, Mamdani announced he would launch 2,000 2-K seats this school year, across five school districts, with funding from the state. The program was an early sign of cooperation between Hochul and Mamdani – and one that they continue to collaborate on nearly a year into Mamdani’s term. The 2-K expansion set for next fall adds 10,000 seats across all of the Bronx, Staten Island and 11 other school districts across Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, with 2-K programs in 23 of the 32 total school districts across the city. That will include additional seats offered in the five school districts already piloting 2-K. The default model for these programs will be to operate full-day and all year round. 

Existing early childhood education centers will be integral to the expansion of universal 2-K as the city Department of Education will release a survey to ask providers that currently contract with them for 3-K and pre-K if they are interested in 2-K. They will also send a Request For Information for interested new providers. 

But the city’s expansion of free early childhood education has not been entirely smooth sailing, and some childcare providers say that while they support free and accessible education, they are concerned about what this means for their businesses.  

“We would be forced to give up part of our business, the only part that we have control over now will be taken away,” Lori Reitzen Cangiolose, a program director for The Play Experience on Staten Island, told City & State. She said she would have to either enter a contract with the city Department of Education for 2-K or close down her classroom for two-year-olds, the private part of her business that she controls the pricing for, due to low demand. 

In contrast to 3-K and pre-K that are also offered in public schools, 2-K is only offered in childcare centers or licensed family home daycare centers. 

“Do I really want to give that up? Because when we don’t receive the right funding or our funding is late we always have that to fall back on. So it gets a little scary,” she said, referring to payment delays she and other providers experienced ahead of this school year. 

Before this school year began, City & State first reported that the pre-K and 3-K programs hosted in childcare centers did not receive their expected funding advance from the city. Other new 2-K programs were also suffering under these delays. 

In response to the funding delays, Mamdani announced a $43 million dollar investment into the city’s Division of Early Childhood Education and the hiring of 200 new staff members to the city Department of Education. 

For other early childhood centers, entering into contracts with the DOE has been a helpful boost to their business, securing them a consistent monthly income. 

“Last year we still had our private two-year-old (classrooms) but we gave that up for the 2-K program after we saw a decline in enrollment because of voucher cuts, so families weren’t able to receive free childcare and it (wasn’t) affordable to privately pay,” said Polina Ioureva, founder and CEO of Innovators Prep in East Flatbush. “So this 2-K program has been a great success.”

Ioureva entered into contracts with the DOE for 2-K, 3-K and pre-K this September, though she has not yet had to go through the reimbursement process with the city. She just recently signed her contracts, having previously received her funding through bridge loans as the city continues to process contracts for childhood education centers.