New York inched toward socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s lofty promise of universal child care Thursday — as Gov. Kathy Hochul rolled out a multi-billion-dollar plan to vastly expand kids programs.
The proposed “2-Care” program for all 2-year-olds in the Big Apple, along with a buildup of existing pre-K and early childcare in the rest of New York, will ultimately provide care for 100,000 more children across the state, Hochul said.
Governor Kathy Hochul at a NYC press crime briefing on Jan. 6, 2026. Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.comMamdani, standing alongside the governor for a back-slapping announcement in the Flatbush YMCA, crowed that the proposals will help families struggling with the cost of childcare in New York City.
“We are now going to be able to fix 3-K, we are going to be able to deliver 2-Care universally across this city over the next four years and we are going to be able to make it easier to raise a family in a city where today it’s a good deal if you can get $22,500 a year for childcare,” he said.
“Those days are now coming to an end.”
The total price tag for Hochul’s “free” childcare proposals – which will be part of her “State of the State” address next week – will be $4.5 billion statewide, of which $1.7 billion is added spending.
Hochul stressed the funding will come from “existing” state revenues, rather than new taxes. She later told PIX11 that tax revenue from Wall Street bonuses, which proved to be quite healthy, would be used to cover the tab.
The governor also flatly said that taxing the rich – as Mamdani and his Democratic Socialists of America allies have clamored for – was off the table.
“Because I don’t think it makes sense to tax anyone or the wealthy in particular for just the sake of raising taxes,” she said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul rolled out a multi-billion-dollar plan to offer “free” child care for all two-year-olds in New York City, while expanding pre-K and early child care programs in the rest of the Empire State. Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com“If I’m telling you the money is there, that’s the story.”
Hochul made a show of emphasizing she was committing full funding for the next two years — but the pledge itself could ultimately lead to future new taxes beyond that time frame.
“What that potentially does is create a fiscal and programmatic cliff that risks the budget in the future and risks the program serving New Yorkers in the future,” warned Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission.
But assuming Hochul is successful in budget talks, the program could be full steam ahead this year.
Mamdani said the first steps toward universal childcare for 2-year-olds will begin in the fall, with 2,000 seats.
Hochul said she is committed to “fully” funding the first two years of the city’s “2-care” program. Paul Martinka“That is going to continue to expand each and every year until we are serving each and every 2-year-old across the city,” he said.
“2-Care will be a reality by the end of this first term.”
Nearly 100,000 new babies were born in 2024, according to the city’s health department.
As envisioned by Mamdani’s socialist administration, Hochul said the first year of the program will focus on high-need areas selected by City Hall and expand to serve all interested families across the Big Apple by its fourth year.
The first-year cost is $73 million, with another $425 million as it expands the following year, Mamdani said.
The program’s estimated yearly cost will be roughly $1 billion a year, according to the nonpartisan Fiscal Policy Institute.
Mamdani made universal child care a key priority in his successful bid for the mayoralty, calling to cover all children over six weeks old.
The democratic socialist proposed $9 billion in combined tax increases on millionaires and corporations to help fund “free” universal child care.
The mammoth ask from the idealistic millennial that would need Albany’s approval and has been greeted with skepticism from Hochul, a Democrat seeking re-election this year.
It could cost $15 billion to phase in universal child care across all 62 counties in the state, budget experts have said.
The governor has presided over a $49 billion – 17% – increase in spending since taking office in 2021.
And while the state may draw higher-than-expected tax receipts from Wall Street and insurance industry bonuses, Hochul’s own budget office estimates gaps of $10 billion and $13 billion in fiscal years 2028 and 2029, respectively – raising potential problems for the program’s sustainability without new taxes or other revenue.
Any tax increase would become a campaign issue and a potential political liability for the incumbent Hochul, who will face Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor.
Blakeman said he strongly supports universal childcare and pre-K, but argued Hochul’s proposal was too New York City-centric.
Mayor Mamdani made universal child care a key priority in his successful bid for the mayoralty. His plan would eventually cover all children over 6 weeks old. Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com“If universal child care is truly a priority for this administration, then it should be implemented fairly and statewide,” he said in a statement. “One New York means one system – where every family contributes and every family benefits.
“What they don’t deserve is to be used as a bankroll to finance a day care program for New York City which excludes their children.”
Hochul did take some steps to broaden the proposal’s appeal by moving to expand pre-K and early childhood programs in other parts of the state.
While 4-year-olds in the city and some other parts of the state have long had access to Pre-K, dozens of school districts lack it.
Hochul is providing funding to phase in universal pre-K for all 4-year-olds in the state by the 2028-29 school year.
The governor is committing $500 million to provide additional funding and expand pre-K seats.
New York City will get roughly $2 billion in Childcare Assistance Program funds under the proposal, with an additional $1.2 billion for the rest of the state, according to Hochul’s office. Another $1.3 billion will go toward pre-K programs statewide.
Hochul also proposed:
- Boosting $1.2 billion in spending to expand access to the Child Care Assistance Program, bringing the total subsidies to parents to more than $3 billion. Most low-income families of the 170,000 children served by the program pay no more than $15 per week for child care;
- Supporting localities outside the city to create and expand child care programs, regardless of income;
- Creating a new Office of Child Care and Early Education to oversee the rollout of universal Pre-K, 3-K, and 2-Care, including aiding the growing child care workforce;
- Bolstering childhood worker training and education programs through scholarships and grants, including through classes at CUNY and SUNY; and
- Expanding the child and dependent care tax credit to provide an additional average benefit of $575 for 230,000 tax filers.
The child care proposal did draw some odd couple praise from unlikely allies: the business community and the DSA.
“Governor Hochul kept her promise and found the resources to fund a $4billion plus child care program without raising taxes,” said Kathryn Wylde, outgoing CEO for the Partnership for New York City. “The business community supports her approach.”
But the DSA’s New York City chapter undercut any capitalist-socialist solidarity by calling for tax hikes on the rich.
“We are committed to our fight for recurring, permanent funding to ensure free, all-day, year-round universal child care is available to all New Yorkers in the state, year after year,” a statement from the lefty group read.
“We need to ensure child care workers are paid a living wage and that pay parity between public and private providers is achieved. And to stabilize the provision of these public services, we need to tax the wealthiest individuals and corporations what they owe.”
– Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
