Free Childcare for 2-Year-Olds Is Expanding in NYC Next Year. Here’s Where.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters. As New York City’s free childcare program is on track to reach 12,000 2-year-olds next year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed Monday which new neighborhoods will get the program. The expansion will bring the program to 22 of the city’s 32 school districts, including all of the Bronx and Staten Island, after that borough had been left out of this year’s inaugural 2,000 seats. Mamdani has pledged to expand the program citywide for all 2-year-olds who need it by the end of his first term, though Hochul has only committed funding for the first two years. Hochul committed $73 million to the program this year and plans to spend $425 million next year. “From Co-op City in the Bronx to Staten Island’s South Shore, we’re bringing 2-K to every borough and making New York City more affordable for working people,” Mamdani said in a statement. Toddlers who turn 2