Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced that School District 27 in Queens will be among the first four communities that will receive free 2K seats this fall.
Mamdani on March 3 announced that 2,000 toddlers will receive free full-day child care this fall as part of his 2K rollout, with seats concentrated in communities that the Mayor says have the greatest economic need and childcare gaps.
School District 27, which includes parts of Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Howard Beach and Rockaways, will be included in the first phase of the rollout, City Hall confirmed in an announcement on Tuesday. The district also includes parts of Lindenwood and Springfield Gardens North.
Mamdani first announced his 2K initiative alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul in early January, pledging to provide free childcare to two-year-olds, regardless of zip code, income or family immigration status.
The program will launch with 2,000 free seats this fall and is expected to expand to full universality within four years.
“Raising a child takes a village – and it takes a city government willing to step up and tackle the child care crisis head-on,” Mamdani said in a statement. “On day eight, we moved closer to making universal childcare a reality. This fall, 2,000 New York City two-year-olds will have a brighter future because of it.”
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said Mamdani’s commitment to District 27 would ensure that the city takes a “seismic leap” toward addressing decades of “systemic disinvestment” in education in South Queens and the Rockaway Peninsula.
“With District 27 set to become the borough’s first 2-K district this fall, we are taking another seismic leap forward in righting the wrongs of the past and building an education system rooted in equity,” Richards said.
Council Member Lynn Schulman also welcomed the investment, stating that families in the local community had often been forced to make “impossible decisions” about their child’s education and care due to rising costs.
“Universal child care must begin with meaningful, targeted investments in neighborhoods that need it most,” Schulman said in a statement. “These new 2K seats, some of which are slated for my district, are a critical step toward making early childhood education truly accessible and affordable for every family.”
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, meanwhile, said the launch of the 2K initiative reflects City Hall’s commitment to reaching families with the greatest need.
“We are opening the doors for thousands of two-year-olds and their families, delivering free, full-day care and early learning and paving the way for bright futures from our students’ earliest ages,” Samuels said.
The rollout is backed by more than $1.2 billion in state funding for early childhood education in New York City, announced by Hochul earlier in the year. That commitment includes $73 million to fund the first round of 2K seats and is expected to grow to $425 million next year, according to City Hall.
