Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to unveil her plans for a pathway to universal child care Thursday in Brooklyn, which starts with expanding universal pre-K statewide. She will announce her proposals alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who made universal child care a cornerstone of his campaign.
Hochul has spoken frequently in the past several months about expanding child care in New York with a goal of eventually establishing a universal system. But she has tempered expectations when discussing costs, building out the necessary infrastructure and hiring child care workers. With that in mind, Hochul is taking a more conservative approach to the high-profile issue by first focusing on establishing universal pre-K, which her office estimates will cost the state roughly $500 million to implement. According to a press release shared prior to the announcement, Hochul plans to fund additional pre-K seats around the state, while also providing more money for existing seats.
“Since taking office, I’ve put families front and center, fighting to make our state more affordable and laying the groundwork to deliver universal childcare,” Hochul said in a statement. “Today, I’m proud to partner with Mayor Mamdani and leaders across our state to make this a reality, turning that foundation into a concrete roadmap that will transform the lives of working parents and kids across our state.”
Working with Mamdani in New York City specifically, Hochul also plans to help launch a 2-Care program to provide free child care for 2-year-olds in a city that already has universal pre-K and 3-K. The governor has committed state dollars to fund the first two years of the program, beginning with high-needs areas before expanding to the rest of the city. Child care for kids younger than three was a key part of Mamdani’s agenda during his campaign for mayor. “Over the past 14 months, a movement was born to fight for a city where every New Yorker could afford a life of dignity and every family could afford to raise their kids,” he said in a statement. “Today, Governor Hochul and I meet that movement as we celebrate our joint commitment to universal child care.”
In addition to universal statewide pre-K and a new 2-Care program in New York City, Hochul is also set to propose pilot programs in counties around the state that are “also ready to launch child care in more expansive ways.” Details of what those pilot programs may specifically entail, along with costs, were not immediately clear.
Despite their differences, child care has served as a unifying issue for Hochul and Mamdani. The joint Thursday announcement also comes as the Trump administration moves to freeze billions in federal child care dollars to New York that both leaders have denounced.
