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universal childcare
Hochul Backs Mamdani Childcare Expansion Plan With Two Years of State Funding
"New York just got a lot more livable for thousands of families."
Jan 08, 2026
Thousands of parents in New York City will have access to free childcare after Gov. Kathy Hochul joined forces with Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday to roll out the first steps of his campaign promise to make childcare universal throughout the city.
The governor announced $1.7 billion in this year's budget that will seek to create childcare access for 100,000 more children, part of a plan to spend $4.5 billion on childcare across the state during this fiscal year.
She said she is committed to “fully fund the first two years of the city’s implementation" of Mamdani's program, which he hopes will one day provide free childcare to kids between 6 weeks and 5 years old.
According to the childcare marketplace website TrustedCare, the average cost of daycare for children in New York City ranges from $2,000 to $4,200 per month, depending on the child's age and schedule.
"This is something every family can agree on," Hochul said at a press conference Thursday at a YMCA in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. "The cost of childcare is too damn high."
The governor and mayor will begin by increasing funding for the city's existing 3K program, created under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, which extended free pre-K, which was already available to all 4-year-olds, to 3-year-olds when spots are available. Hochul said she and Mamdani will seek to "fix" the program and make it truly universal.
After initially promising to make it available to all 3-year-olds, Mamdani's predecessor, former Mayor Eric Adams, instead slashed funding for it and other early childhood education programs, which children's advocates said drove kids out of the public school system and left many unable to find seats in nearby areas.
"We stand here today because of the young New Yorkers who were no longer willing to accept that the joy of beginning a family had to be paired with the heartbreak of moving away from a city that they have always loved," Mamdani said.
In addition to making that program universal, Hochul and Mamdani are rolling out a program offering childcare for 2-year-olds, known as "2 Care," which will first be available in "high-need areas" before being rolled out to all parents by 2029.
Mamdani has estimated that the plan to make pre-K fully universal will cost about $6 billion per year, with funding made more challenging by the fact that President Donald Trump recently cut off federal childcare subsidies to states, including $3 billion to New York, amid a manufactured panic about rampant fraud. Hochul has said the state is mulling its legal options to fight the funding freeze.
In the meantime, she plans to spend $73 million in the first year to cover the cost and creation of 2 Care, and $425 million in the second year as more children enroll.
While the source of the funds was not immediately clear, Hochul has said that money for the initial phase of the rollout will come from revenue already allocated by the legislature and not from any tax hikes in the coming year.
"We’re barely six months away from people dismissing Zohran Mamdani for running on universal childcare," said Rebecca Katz, an adviser to the new mayor's campaign. "And now here we are. Incredible. New York just got a lot more livable for thousands of families."
Some New Yorkers who supported Mamdani's campaign expressed excitement on social media about having one of their highest costs lifted.
"Universal 3K is the major reason we could afford to stay in our apartment in NYC," said Jordan Zakarin, a producer at the labor-focused media company More Perfect Union. "Making care free for 2-year-olds will be a game-changer for so many families and keep so many of them in NYC."
Andrei Berman, a father of three children, said that "this will save me 40 grand and eliminate my biggest expense a year early."
The high cost of childcare is an issue that has brought Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, together with the centrist Hochul. The endorsement of New York's "first mom governor," a leading Democratic power-broker in the state and the country, proved a critical stepping stone for Mamdani on his unlikely ascent to the city's highest office last year.
"To the cynics who insist that politics is too broken to deliver meaningful change, to those who think that the promises of a campaign cannot survive once confronted with the realities of government, today is your answer," Mamdani said. "This is a day that so many believed would never come, but it is a day that working people across our city have delivered through the sheer power of their hard work and their unwavering belief that a better future was within their grasp."
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Please Note: Zohran Mamdani’s Proposals Are Surprisingly Affordable
It would be nice if all revolutions came this cheap.
Nov 04, 2025
Here’s something for New York City residents to consider as they vote for Mayor, and for observers outside New York to consider as they watch the vote count: for the most part, Zohran Mamdani’s plans for the city are surprisingly affordable. Despite the frantic tone of mainstream media coverage (and the revolutionary overtones of the phrase “democratic socialist”) most of Mamdani’s agenda could be accomplished at minimal cost to the city. The only exception is his plan for free universal childcare—whose costs may have been overstated by his own campaign.
Grocery Store Pilot Program
Mamdani has proposed opening five city-owned grocery stores in the city, at a cost of $60 million. These stores would use city-owned property, which means they wouldn’t have to pay rent, and would sell the food at operating cost without making a profit.
Would it work? Military commissaries are successful. So is Costco, which operates a trimmed-down, “bare bones” store model. Cities have already opened public grocery stores, although their problems and needs differ from those of a city like New York.
Something needs to be done. The city has recognized that there is a grocery store shortage, and city residents pay a higher percentage of their income for food than the typical American. The corporate takeover of supermarkets has jacked up prices for everyone, and that problem is even more acute in places like New York City.
Are city-run grocery stores the solution? Mamdani’s plan is a pilot program, which means it’s an experiment. It seems like a useful one. In the worst-case scenario, tens of thousands of city residents will have affordable groceries while the pilot is underway. For many of them, it will be the first time in years. And if it works, it could change life for millions of New Yorkers.
As for cost, $60 million is a tiny fraction of the city’s budget. Furthermore, New Yorkers—like the rest of us—are already paying an “invisible tax” on food, as consolidation and corporatization of the grocery business increases prices for everyone.
“Free, fast bus service”
First, it’s important to recognize that 48 percent of the city’s bus riders board without paying their fares, according to the Transit Authority. Or, to put that another way: the city’s bus system is already half “free.” We’re just talking about the other half.
Some opponents have argued that free buses will attract “undesirable” elements. The most generous interpretation of that iffy phrase means “poorer or more criminally inclined types.” But they’re the ones riding the buses for free right now! They’re also disproportionately represented among today’s passengers, since law-abiding people who can’t afford the fare are forced to walk.
As for expense, the New York Times estimates that it would cost $600 million in lost fares to make the buses free. The Times also argues that the cost could rise to $800 million in lost fares if more people choose to ride the free buses. But that logic is flawed. Since those new passengers wouldn’t have been there unless the ride was free, no revenue has been lost. (If ridership increases for other reasons there would be lost revenue, but the direct cost of operating the buses would remain essentially unchanged.)
$600 million is a large number to most of us, of course. But it’s roughly one-half of one percent of New York City’s 2026 budget, for something that makes life more affordable for millions of New York City residents. And the increased ridership will make the “fast” part more popular, laying the political groundwork for more dedicated bus lanes.
Rent Freeze
Mamdani is proposing a freeze on rents, which would apply to roughly 30 percent of the city’s rental units. That would not cost the city anything, although a case could be made that it could reduce high-end spending in the city. That’s highly speculative, however.
What we do know is that cash-strapped lower- and middle-income New Yorkers would have more money to spend for the necessities of life—and maybe even a small pleasure or two. That will provide an immediate boost to the city’s economy.
Free Universal Childcare
This is the expensive part of the program. The Mamdani campaign estimates that the free childcare program will cost $6 billion. Another group, the Fiscal Policy Institute, estimates that it would cost a much lower $2.5 billion. Either way, however, there’s no denying that it’s a lot of money.
New Mexico recently passed a highly popular referendum that will provide free and universal childcare to the state’s residents, but that state had a ready-made revenue stream from the royalties fossil-fuel companies pay the state for drilling on state land.
New York, of course, must look elsewhere. There’s no space here to review Mamdani’s revenue proposal in detail but it would cover the cost of the childcare program if passed, with another $4 billion left over. As many observers have pointed out, any increase to the state tax would have to be passed in Albany.
It’s possible that the state legislature will pass the tax hike, but there are ways to handle the shortfall even if it doesn’t. Mamdani’s plan also raises $4 billion from a city tax increase on annual income over $1 million (which, if passed, would still leave most of those affected paying less than they did before Trump’s tax cut). It would also raise approximately $1 billion (estimated) from procurement reform and improved collections. That’s $5 billion, which is less than the Mamdani team estimates its childcare plan would cost but double the Fiscal Policy Institute’s estimate.
If the higher estimate is correct, there are a number of intermediate steps that could be taken until full funding became available. They could begin with a needs-based program, for example, or they could limit the age range the plan covers.
The bottom line? Mamdani’s plans are surprisingly affordable. Every revolution should come this cheap.
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Maine Progressive Matt Dunlap Launches Bid for Jared Golden's US House Seat
"I’m running because Mainers deserve a fighter who won’t cave to Donald Trump. Jared Golden said Trump is ‘OK’ and that we’ll be ‘just fine’ but Mainers are being hurt by his policies."
Oct 06, 2025
Maine Auditor Matt Dunlap on Monday launched a Democratic primary campaign against US Rep. Jared Golden, citing the incumbent congressman's frequent siding with President Donald Trump and Republicans and promising a "People's Agenda" that centers working-class needs.
"I’m running because Mainers deserve a fighter who won’t cave to Donald Trump," Dunlap, who is also a former Maine secretary of state, said in a statement announcing his candidacy. "Jared Golden said Trump is ‘OK’ and that we’ll be ‘just fine’ but Mainers are being hurt by his policies."
"Golden has repeatedly sided with Trump, even when it means that healthcare costs will skyrocket for thousands of Mainers," Dunlap added. "When I’m in Congress, I’ll stand up for Maine, and I’ll fight for affordable healthcare, a lower cost of living, and higher wages for hardworking people.”
Dunlap's platform—which includes Medicare for All and universal childcare—stands in stark contrast with Golden's record as the sole House Democrat to vote against unemployment benefits, child tax credits, and affordable healthcare in the American Rescue Plan pandemic relief package signed by former President Joe Biden in 2021.
Golden was also the only House Democrat who voted for Republicans' government funding bill last month, blaming "hardball politics driven by the demands far-left groups" for the ongoing government shutdown.
Taking aim at both Golden and former Gov. Paul LePage, the likely Republican nominee, Dunlap said in his first campaign ad that "we can do better than bad and worse."
The ad also highlights Dunlap's purported accessibility, a sore spot among voters who accuse Golden of dodging his constituents by refusing to hold town hall meetings.
Dunlap faces a steep uphill battle in a district that Trump won by 9.6% in 2024.
“If Matt Dunlap thinks this district will choose him over Paul LePage, he’s got another thing coming,” Golden said in response to Monday's announcement.
LePage campaign spokesperson Brent Littlefield welcomed Dunlap's entry into the race, saying the progressive candidate "sees what we see, Jared Golden is hiding."
"From Aroostook to Oxford and every county in between, Maine people say they never see Jared Golden in their towns or communities," he added.
Dunlap already has a history of clashing with Trump. During his first term, the president appointed the then-secretary of state to a bipartisan panel tasked with investigating alleged voter fraud. Dunlap sued the commission to obtain files he said were being withheld from him. A judge ruled in his favor; Trump subsequently shut down the commission.
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