Zohran Mamdani ran for mayor of New York City on an affordability platform that included free child care for every child from 6 weeks to 5 years old.
It is an ambitious and expensive plan that could take years to put into effect.
Gov. Kathy Hochul supports the idea and has vowed to make child care a top priority in 2026. Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani, who are Democrats and political allies, are discussing how to pay for it and which families could get the first seats.
Polls have found that the idea is broadly popular in the state. Many families pay more than $20,000 per child each year for day care — their largest expense besides housing.
New York City already offers free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. If the program expands successfully to babies and toddlers, it could serve as a national model.
Here is what to know about the plan:
I have a baby. When will I get free child care?
Probably not right away.
State and city officials want to start expanding free child care in 2026. But the cost and logistics mean that the rollout will most likely be gradual over several years.
Ms. Hochul wants the program to be statewide and has said it could cost $15 billion annually. Mr. Mamdani has said that it could cost $6 billion each year for the city.
The logistics will be complicated as officials work to recruit more child care workers and to open more centers.
The rollout of universal prekindergarten in 2014, a campaign pledge by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, moved quickly. The city created more than 30,000 seats in the first year. The expansion to 3-year-olds took longer, and some neighborhoods still do not have enough seats.
Mr. Mamdani has given himself some leeway. He committed to delivering on his entire agenda — including universal child care, free buses and rent freezes for rent-stabilized apartments — over the next eight years, or in two terms as mayor.
“By the time that I am done being the mayor of this city, this will be a reality for each and every New Yorker,” Mr. Mamdani told reporters this fall. “We’re going to be pushing every single day to deliver it as soon as possible.”
Why is it so expensive?
More than 660,000 children could eventually join the program statewide, and caring for younger children is more expensive.
Kindergarten classes often have more than 20 students. For infants, city law requires one worker for every three or four babies.
It is likely that the state will embrace a phased-in approach starting with 2-year-olds instead of expanding to all families at once.
Cost estimates vary widely based on wage levels. Child care employees are some of New York’s lowest paid workers and earn as little as $25,000 each year. Mr. Mamdani supports raising wages closer to $85,000, the average for a kindergarten teacher.
Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has called for tax increases on wealthy New Yorkers and businesses to pay for the plan. Ms. Hochul, a moderate who is friendly with business leaders, opposes raising personal income taxes, but she appears open to raising other taxes.
Mr. Mamdani has sought to highlight the cost of doing nothing — how many families have left the city because it is too expensive, or how many mothers have left the work force because they cannot afford child care.
The plan could allow more than 14,000 mothers to return to work, generating $900 million in labor income, according to a report from the city comptroller.
Who will get the first seats?
State and city officials have signaled that they want to start the expansion of free child care with 2-year-olds, possibly in neighborhoods where there are many working-class families.
Ms. Hochul is expected to provide more details about universal child care at her annual “State of the State” speech on Jan. 13. She is running for re-election in November and often highlights that she is a mother and grandmother who understands the issue.
“We will get on a path forward — we absolutely will,” she said at a recent child care summit. “We just have to do it over the right time frame with the right amount of money.”
Advisers to Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani have said that they first want to stabilize the city’s free preschool program for 3-year-olds, which faced budget cuts and tumult under Mayor Eric Adams. Some neighborhoods have empty seats, and other neighborhoods do not have enough to meet demand.
Dean Fuleihan, Mr. Mamdani’s first deputy mayor, said at a recent event with civic leaders that the city must move quickly to fix 3-K so that families have a “reasonable place in their communities.”
He added: “Is the conversation to then go to 2-year-olds? Should it be done over a group in high-need communities? Those are the conversations we’re in right now.”
Have other places tried this?
No major American city offers universal child care. But the idea has gained momentum as affordability has become a national political issue.
New Mexico recently became the first state in the country to offer it. The state’s plan is expected to cost about $600 million per year and will be paid for in part with oil and gas tax revenue.
The Canadian province of Quebec has had a low-cost universal child care system since the 1990s. Many European countries offer subsidized child care, and Nordic countries have the most generous systems.
There have been calls for a national solution. In 2021, Congress considered but rejected major legislation to spend nearly $400 billion on universal prekindergarten and affordable child care programs.
What are some of the sticking points?
A major question is whether home-based day care centers and care provided by family members could be part of the program.
Mr. Mamdani has said that he wants to subsidize child care at home for families who “prefer to have a trusted neighbor or relative take care of their child” — meaning an aunt or a grandparent could be paid to watch a child in their family. He also wants to ease onerous regulations for providers.
Julie Menin, a City Council member from Manhattan who is expected to become the Council speaker in January, said in an interview that she wants to consider changing some rules, such as a requirement that child care centers be on the ground floor, and wants to ease delays over background checks for workers.
“I’m deeply committed to universal child care,” she said. “There is a tremendous amount we can do legislatively.”
If the program starts in high-need neighborhoods, there is precedent. The city recently started a $10 million pilot program for free child care that prioritizes neighborhoods in the East Bronx and in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
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