Gov Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani greet pre-schoolers at a YMCA in Flatbush, Brooklyn on Thursday, January 8.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Thursday, Jan. 8, marks the eighth day of Zohran Mamdani’s time period as mayor. New York News is following Mamdani round his first 100 days in workplace as we intently observe his progress on fulfilling marketing campaign guarantees, appointing key leaders to authorities posts, and managing the town’s funds. Right here’s a abstract of what the mayor did at the moment.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday threw the burden of the state behind Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s signature marketing campaign promise, asserting a partnership that may launch free little one look after two-year-olds in New York Metropolis this fall and speed up his broader push towards common little one care.
Beneath the plan, the state will totally fund the primary two years of the brand new “2-Care” program, which is predicted to serve about 2,000 kids in its first yr and broaden yearly, Hochul and Mamdani stated at a press briefing at a YMCA in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Affordability: Common childcare
The initiative builds on New York Metropolis’s present common prekindergarten and 3K applications and marks the primary time the town has dedicated to free little one care for youngsters youthful than three. Metropolis officers stated the preliminary rollout would prioritize high-need neighborhoods, with particulars to be finalized in session with households and little one care suppliers.
“This is going to be the difference for so many families in whether or not they can stay in the city or are forced to leave,” Mamdani stated, calling the announcement a turning level for working mother and father.
Town-state settlement is a part of a broader little one care agenda Hochul outlined Thursday, which incorporates increasing little one care subsidies, strengthening the town’s 3K program with a $100 million funding, and committing to common pre-Ok entry for all four-year-olds statewide by the 2028–29 faculty yr.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell 
A toddler leaps off the stage throughout Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani’s press convention on little one care in BrooklynPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell
The primary yr of the 2-Care program is predicted to value about $75 million to serve roughly 2,000 two-year-olds, with the second yr projected at $425 million, officers stated. As well as, the town will make investments $100 million to strengthen and broaden the prevailing 3K program. Hochul described the mixed new funding as roughly $1.7 billion for the primary two years, a part of a broader $4.5 billion dedication that features beforehand allotted funds. She stated the state might cowl these prices with out elevating taxes and can define detailed funding sources in her upcoming funds proposal.
Hochul added the state’s commitments would transfer ahead regardless of uncertainty brought on by current federal actions affecting little one care funding. Earlier this week, the Trump administration notified New York that billions of {dollars} in federal little one care and social providers funding could possibly be in danger, prompting the state to organize authorized challenges.
“This will not affect these commitments,” Hochul stated on Thursday. “We are looking at our litigation strategies… We’ve been successful in court before. The shame that everything we do has to start with a call to my lawyer and say one more lawsuit that we have to file, but that’s the world under Donald Trump, so we’re going to fight back.”
New York Metropolis’s little one care system has confronted mounting stress from workers shortages, rising prices, and restricted availability. Whereas the town provides little one care vouchers to eligible households by way of the Administration for Youngsters’s Providers, many households wrestle to safe placements, and voucher waitlists have periodically closed.
New York State has the second-highest common little one care prices within the nation, with households paying a mean of $14,621 per little one yearly. In New York Metropolis, the typical annual value rose to $18,200 per little one in 2024, a 79 p.c improve since 2019.
Throughout his mayoral marketing campaign, Mamdani pledged to make little one care free for all metropolis kids from six weeks to 5 years outdated and to boost wages for little one care staff. State officers framed Thursday’s announcement as an early however important step towards that aim, as a part of a longer-term plan to construct a common little one care system statewide.
Hochul stated particulars on funding sources can be included in her upcoming funds proposal and stated the state might soak up the prices with out elevating taxes.
Thursday’s announcement rapidly drew reward from training and social service leaders, who lauded the announcement for prioritizing households and kids.
Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Lecturers, stated the plan “puts children and families first” and offers long-overdue help for home-based little one care suppliers. “We are ready to help turn this plan into reality,” he added.
Christine C. Quinn, president and CEO of Win, a significant supplier of housing and providers for homeless households, stated inexpensive little one care is crucial to addressing broader social challenges. “The high cost of childcare is a driving force in the family homelessness crisis,” Quinn stated. “Governor Hochul’s leadership… puts hardworking families first and builds a solid foundation for statewide universal childcare. Aided by the extraordinary vision of Mayor Mamdani, New York is one step closer to ending the family homelessness crisis.”
It is a growing story and can be up to date.
