Overview
- Two thousand free seats for two-year-olds will open in September 2026 across Manhattan District 6, Bronx District 10, Brooklyn Districts 18 and 23, and Queens District 27.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul committed $73 million for year one and plans $425 million for year two, with officials aiming to scale to roughly 12,000 seats by fall 2027.
- Applications are expected to open in early summer with rolling admissions through the fall for children who turn two between September and December.
- The rollout targets high-need areas and will rely on existing child care infrastructure, especially community-based and home-based providers, with no new school-based programs initially.
- City officials cite unresolved questions on program hours, staffing and space as major challenges; Staten Island is not in the first phase, with a pledge to add it in year two, and 16,500 families remain on a child care subsidy waitlist.