On Tuesday morning, June 2, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul made a surprise appearance at Sandpiper Playground on Beach 107th and Shore Front Parkway. The occasion was to announce another benefit for children—the opening of applications for the City’s first 2,000 2-K seats.
Families with a child born in 2024 can apply for 2-K seats in School Districts 6, 10, 18, 23 and 27 (Rockaway’s district) now through June 26, 2026, with offers released in August. Applications can be submitted through MySchools.nyc by calling 718-935-2009 or by visiting one of the City’s Family Welcome Centers.
In January, Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul announced the launch of 2-K, along with a $1.2 billion investment by the state for child care in New York City. According to a press release, the program will begin with 2,000 free seats this fall, and expand to 12,000 seats next year, with full universality over the next four years.
In April, Mayor Mamdani announced that a majority of these seats would be offered as full-day programs operating from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 260 days per year. Families will be able to enroll in 2-K through center-based programs and licensed family child care homes.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Mamdani and Hochul were joined by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Council Members Rita Joseph and Shekar Krishnan, Sheril Napier, the director of the Sheldon R. Weaver Child Care Center in Rockaway, and some of its students, local nonprofit leaders and more.
“This morning, on what I must say is a perfect 72-degree day, sunny here in the Rockaways, we stand on the brink of a summer that will feel very different for the families in this area. Instead of stressing about how they’ll be able to afford childcare come the fall, instead of picking up extra shifts or working overtime, parents can come to this beach with their children without having to worry,” Mayor Mamdani said. “As they enjoy the sun [and] the waves, they’ll be able to rest easy knowing that their kids will be taken care of in high-quality childcare programs and that those programs will be free. It is truly a pleasure to be here to celebrate this moment as we embark on a new chapter in our city’s history, a chapter where we make it easier to raise a family in the place that we all love.”
Mostly drowned out by loud protests from Transport Workers Union Local 100 members chanting “Anti-union, anti-worker,” Gov. Hochul said, “To all the parents, all the true believers, all the people who said that New York can be that place where we finally focus on the most important priority, and that is our children. From the second that a new baby is born, you hold your baby in your arms. You are now mentally hardwired and emotionally connected to this little person. And all you can think about is how to keep them safe, how to keep them secure and how to give them the best of childcare. So, I want to thank the mayor for helping fulfill this vision, a long-standing vision I’ve had for years and years as a parent and a leader of this state to make sure that this was no longer a dream, but it became available for all. So, thank you, Mayor Mamdani, for accepting the support we gave you back in January — $1.2 billion to make this day a reality.” Hochul left right after speaking.
BP Donovan Richards said, “I’m the proud father of a public elementary school student graduating in a few weeks, and going to middle school, D3. I can’t begin to put into words how important affordable childcare and early education are. If you’re lucky, you can only afford one of those. But for the vast majority of New Yorkers, they would have better luck finding buried treasure here at the beach than a way to pay for both.
“With the launch of 2-K, however, families will now be able to enjoy both at no cost, boosting their children’s development while protecting their bank accounts in this community. For generations, Rockaway residents were born into disinvestment, but we say no more. As someone who lived here in my youth, I know what the sting of marginalization and disregard feels like. So, I want to thank the mayor and the governor for making sure families across Rockaway and South Queens are the first to feel the joy of investment.”
At the end of the conference, Mamdani was asked questions by the press. With QueensWay in his budget, instead of QueensLink, which Mamdani had supported, Ryan Schwach of the Queens Daily Eagle asked him if both can be built in the future. “We’ve made sure that any investment in the QueensWay also ensures that it does not preclude any future investment in QueensLink,” Mamdani said. “We want to ensure that we are building more parks for New Yorkers today and that we’re also not precluding the ability to do anything different tomorrow.”
