Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Good afternoon, my friends. It is a real pleasure to be here with you this afternoon and to be on the verge of ushering in a new future for the children and families who call our city home, together. Yesterday, my chancellor and I, as well as other members of my team, traveled up to Albany for Governor Hochul's State of the State Address, and I hope that many families tuned in as well.
The governor laid out a remarkable vision for universal child care in our city that will change the lives of thousands of children and of thousands of parents. I could paraphrase her words, but I would rather quote them in full. As she said, “The state will fully fund the first two years of the universal 2-Care program while also helping New York City realize the full promise of universal 3-K.”
This will be a transformative achievement for our city, but it did not arrive by accident. It is the result of sustained ambition by countless New Yorkers who dared to envision a future that every single New Yorker could afford, and it is the result of a movement that worked together and organized together to build enough political momentum to remake our city.
But all of that work and all of these hard-fought victories are only worthwhile if New Yorkers are actually informed of the programs and resources available to them. And while 2-Care is not available across our city yet, 3-K and Pre-K are. So we are here today to encourage New Yorkers to enroll their young children in 3-K and Pre-K because the window to do so begins today.
New Yorkers have until February 27th, or a little bit more than six weeks from now, to sign up. The benefits of having a young child in 3-K or Pre-K are vast and far-reaching. A good early childhood education lays the foundation for better outcomes later in life. Signing your child up over the next few weeks could have enormous positive ripple effects decades down the line, and for many parents eager to return to the workforce, this could be what makes all the difference.
I know that there are many New Yorkers who are unaware these opportunities exist, and frankly that is no accident. The past administration sought to not only cut funding for the program but also to cut outreach and advertising about early childhood education as well. The consequences were stark. Thousands of empty seats, especially in the parts of the city with higher numbers of immigrant and low-income families who stood to benefit the most.
We will write a new story from our City Hall, one where we improve existing programs, invest in our families, and use our platform to spread the word to as many New Yorkers as we can. We will use every single tool at our disposal, not simply press conferences such as these, but ads in the back of taxis, LinkNYC, as well as asking New Yorkers themselves to participate in this effort.
If you know someone who has a child that would be eligible, please encourage them to sign up. This could be the difference between their family having to spend more than $20,000 for a single year of child care or being able to send their child into a universal program like this. Any family can do so by going to MySchools.nyc, calling 718-935-2009, or going to one of the city's 13 family welcome centers across the five boroughs.
This is how we make government work for each and every one of our children. It's how we make the city that we love into a city that every single New Yorker can afford. Thank you, and I will now pass it over to my school's chancellor.
Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels, New York City Public Schools: Thank you Mayor Mamdani for your continued support. Thank you all for being here today. Thank you as well to the Cypress Hills Child Care Center for hosting us. As I got ready this morning, I couldn't help but think about the parents across our city rushing to work coordinating pickups and drop-offs, too often forced to make impossible choices between career opportunities and care for their little ones.
Today, we're saying we see you, we hear you, we are taking action. Recently, Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul made a historic commitment to investing in universal child care, and as a parent of a toddler myself and a lifelong educator, I want to recognize the impact of this commitment. This is about equity, opportunity, and about setting our young learners on paths to success while also addressing real needs of families.
Because when we prioritize our youngest New York's cutest, we're investing in parents and guardians who can pursue their careers and pursue neighborhoods as they grow stronger and more equitable, more affordable, and we want a more hopeful New York. I'm thrilled to share that applications to 3-K and Pre-K for next year are now open and will remain open through February 27th.
To our families with young children, I encourage you to apply. I am grateful to Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul for their partnership, and I appreciate the families, educators, and advocates who've pushed us to think bigger and do better. So, I'll leave you with this. If you have a child born in 2022 or 2023, apply to our 3-K and Pre-K programs today.
If you're an educator, know that we see you and we value you, and if you believe that every child deserves a fair shot, you're in really good company. Let's get to work. Thank you very much.
Question: Beyond offering a seat to kids, what are you doing? Like what structural changes are you doing to enrollment in making sure that kids are getting a seat in their neighborhoods that they live in and not having to travel across the city to different boroughs to get into school?
Mayor Mamdani: This is a key part of what will be the focus of our work and also why we are so proud of the commitment that we secured from the state. Of the $1.21 billion dollars that were committed, more than $100 million was committed specifically to fixing 3-K, to ensuring that not only could we offer every child a seat that wanted one, but also that we could make it easier to actually take the city up on that offer.
Question: Where do you stand in terms of capacity? Do you anticipate having enough seats for all the children that apply for a 3-K slot? And if not, how does that selection process work?
Mayor Mamdani: We are fully confident in both of those things and what I really appreciate in everyone that we have up here from our team is that we are not going to rest on our laurels to simply wait for applications to come in. We are going to go out to New York City and to New Yorkers to make the case that this is a program for them and we need to make it as easy as possible for them to actually hear about this program.
Question: We spoke to parents and they are a little bit afraid, I documented, to actually articulate or register their children in the new universal Pre-K or any programs because of the environment that they're living in. So it's kind of like a compound question, that's one.
And two, with the new threats from President Trump reiterating that he's going to remove all the funds to sanctuary cities, how will this affect your plans for any universal programs, especially the 2-Care that are still in the works? Will that have an impact in any of the programs?
Mayor Mamdani: In a moment such as this, it only heightens the importance of city and state collaboration to be funding these kinds of programs and we are fully confident of our ability to deliver on these programs and also we will take every opportunity to remind New Yorkers across the city of the sanctuary city policies that we have in place here in New York City.
Those are policies that ensure that ICE agents are not allowed to enter into a school property or a New York City property or even a property owned by a New York City contractor that is doing business with the city unless they can provide a judicial warrant signed by a judge.
And I know that there are many families, especially undocumented families across the city and immigrant families at large, who have been unsure as to what their rights are. In a moment such as this, we are going to do the work just as we're reminding New Yorkers they have until February 27th to sign up for this program. We're also going to remind them of the rights that they have as New Yorkers.
Question: And New Yorkers are paying for that, for their services? Because that's what's coming from Washington—that taxpayers are paying for these services because they're undocumented.
Mayor Mamdani: We will continue to advance this vision for child care, and I also take heart from what the governor said in regards to the earlier threat around child care funding from the federal administration, of her confidence in being able to win that case in court.
Question:. On the threats to cut funding, it's been reported, I believe by Axios—to give credit where credit is due—that you have been texting with President Trump. I'm wondering if you can confirm that, and then, more broadly, this is that moment where New Yorkers are looking at you and saying, Mr. Mayor, what can you do relative to the relationship with President Trump to alleviate some of these concerns? So what can you do, sir?
Mayor Mamdani: I will continue to make the case for New York City, and I think that's been at the heart of every conversation that I've had with the president, whether it's in the Oval Office or through the handful of texts and calls that we've exchanged, it's always about making the case for this city. And when it comes to the threat to restrict federal funding to New York City, I want to be very clear that our values and our laws are not bargaining chips. We will stand up for them, and we will stand up for them even in the face of these kinds of threats.
Question: And I know you said last night, just to update, you hadn't touched base with him on this. Have you, in the interim, as of this morning, touched base with him?
Mayor Mamdani: I reached out to President Trump. We haven't yet connected.
Question: I have two questions. The first one, are you guaranteeing every parent a [inaudible] seat in their neighborhood?
Mayor Mamdani: We are guaranteeing every single parent a seat when they apply for this, and we are doing the work to make sure that those seats will be far closer than they have been in the past.
Question: And the second question— [on] your executive order on small businesses. You know, many new mayors come in, and this is an initiative to sort of ease the way for small businesses. I'm wondering what's different about the executive order you've signed, versus even Mayor Adams had a plan for small businesses.
Mayor Mamdani: The plight of small businesses is not new. Neither is the recognition of that plight. What has been missing, however, is the action on that issue. And this executive order directs every city agency to create a single inventory of every single fine and fee that a small business faces. We're looking at more than 6,000 regulations that small businesses have to jump through, speaking of refrigerator fees and frozen dessert fees, and then directs them to start to reduce them.
And I think what will make this different is that this is not an additional concern of ours. Rather, it is a central concern of our City Hall in that we want to make it easier not just to open the doors of a small business, but also to keep them open.
And today, when I was speaking to Yesenia Rodriguez at Sweets and Things, she shared that her story of becoming a small business owner could only begin after she'd spent years of working out of other people's kitchens and other people's businesses, having pop-ups, because of how many hoops she had to jump through.
And we want to make sure that we don't celebrate how someone was able to open their doors in spite of those fines and fees. Rather, we make it easier for them to do so because of what [the] city government's doing.
Question: Is there a timeline for those rules to be implemented?
Mayor Mamdani: There is a timeline for the inventory, and then as soon as the inventory is completed, then the work begins of reducing the fees.
Question:You were a little bit critical of the previous administration's outreach on this program. Could you say a little bit more specifically how your outreach will look different? Like, will there be a new website, an ad campaign, something like that? And secondly–
Mayor Mamdani: I'll answer the first one. This is going to be part of a full-court press from our city government to inform each and every New Yorker of the fact that the enrollment period begins today, and it goes until February 27th. And, I will be making the case, our schools chancellor will be making the case, our entire early childhood education team will be making the case.
We'll be making it ourselves, we'll be using press conferences, but we'll also be advertising on LinkNYC, on taxi television, as well as using digital media to get the word out. Because a program is only as good as a New Yorker's knowledge of it. And we do not want to pat ourselves on the back for something that is being done while most New Yorkers are unaware of it.
We want to ensure that this program connects specifically with the New Yorkers who are anxious about their ability to afford more than $20,000 in a year's worth of costs. And actually, before the chancellor and I met with New York's cutest, we met with a navigator who was helping a parent and her young child enroll into 3-K.
And she was picking the various different schools that she liked that were close to both her home as well as potentially close to her job. And we want to let New Yorkers know that you can find out of these possibilities, whether you're going to the website, whether you're calling on the number, or whether you're going to a welcome center in person, of which there are more than 10.
Question: I was wondering, on enrollment figures, do you or the chancellor have any estimates yet for how many kids are actually expected to enroll in 3-K and Pre-K? And on enrollment, as it relates to 2-Care, the governor yesterday said that 2-Care, once fully implemented, should serve about 30,000 kids.
That's pretty markedly lower than the 55,000 that New Yorkers United for Healthcare has said is needed. Your office agreed with this 30k figure. I'm wondering, where's that 30k figure coming from, and do you indeed think this 55k number is exaggerated?
Mayor Mamdani: What we are going to do is do all of the outreach within our power to make the case to New Yorkers and then see, in the hopes of having the largest possible number of New Yorkers enrolling in these very programs. And, can you say the first question again?
Question: If you have estimates for how many people, how many kids [inaudible].
Mayor Mamdani: I think a lot of these estimates, frankly, are based on the absence of any kind of sustained outreach from City Hall in prior years. And we are making that outreach a focal point of our city government's focus for the next six weeks. And frankly, this is not just going to be tasked with those who are here next to me. This is going to be a responsibility for all of us. Because every day we meet New Yorkers, and that's another day where we can say, February 27th, you have until then to enroll your child.
Question: Where did you get the 30,000 figure from? Where is that estimate from? What did you base it on?
Emmy Liss, Executive Director, Office of Child Care: So as the mayor said, we are basing our best estimates now on the data that we have, and we're going to continue gathering new data from families. We looked at past enrollment patterns in the city's early childhood programs, as well as estimates from other places around the country and world that have more accessible child care programs for young children.
But we recognize that the estimate that the governor put out, the estimates from advocates, they are all just estimates until we actually talk to families and ask them what they want and need, which is what we are planning to do next. And then we will scale the program to meet the need as we see it.
Question: Mr. Mayor, really quickly, how often do you text with Donald Trump? Are you guys texting like every day?
Mayor Mamdani: We've exchanged a handful of text messages.
Question: I was just going to follow up on that in the following sentence. How much of your communication with the president is sort of an aftermath of your pretty positive meeting with him at the White House? Did he give you some sort of communication protocols? [Saying]“Text me if you need me. Call me if you need me.” Are you sort of figuring it out on your own? Because a lot of the voters are hearing about this and wondering, how is it that our mayor is standing up for us to the president?
Mayor Mamdani: The importance of standing up is to do so consistently, whether in public or in private. And that's what I will continue to do as the mayor of this city. And whenever I reach out to the president or the president reaches out to me, I always make the case for our city.
And this is in line with what I've said over the course of the campaign as I ran to become the mayor, is that wherever there was a possibility to advance an agenda that would benefit New Yorkers, I would take that opportunity to speak directly to the president. And wherever there's disagreement, I will also be frank and honest about that disagreement.
Question: You said that the president reached out to you. Has he reached out to you? Has he texted you?
Mayor Mamdani: In general?
Question: You said that, yeah, the president reached out. That whenever he reaches out to you —
Mayor Mamdani: There are times when the president reaches out. There are times when I reach out to the president. I always ensure that whatever that occasion is, we use it as an opportunity to put forward the needs of New Yorkers.
Question: And on federal funding, if the president does pull federal funding from New York City and New York State, obviously you guys are facing a massive budget deficit. What are your conversations like? Who are you having these conversations with? Are you guys looking at legal options? Are you guys preparing ahead of time?
Mayor Mamdani: We are preparing for every single eventuality. And what that requires is a whole-of-government approach. And it also requires ensuring that you have a Law Department that is prepared for something like that. And that is a large part of why we selected Steve Banks as our nominee for Corporation Counsel, as someone who is incredibly skilled, fluent, and capable of taking on any potential hypothetical in this moment.
Question: Today's announcement is a little bit about your affordability agenda. Yesterday in Albany, you had a different take on a different part of the affordability agenda, which was Governor Hochul's proposal to lower auto insurance rates. And one of the big foundations of that proposal is to reduce the compensation that people who have been seriously injured by car drivers would receive, as well as making it cheaper to own auto insurance.
Thereby driving more people to get cars and drive, which is a different side of your affordability agenda, because there would be more congestion, more road violence, more damage to roads, etc. So how do you square that? Why would you support something that would encourage more driving and deprive injured people of compensation?
Mayor Mamdani: So what I will support is measures that will reduce the cost of living across the city, and I will also do so in tandem with a vision that makes this a more livable city. And what we've found time and time again is that we have to make public transit the most convenient, the most affordable, [and] the most rational option that New Yorkers can take. And that is, in many ways, a central part of what I've tasked my DOT in doing, in trying to make our streets the envy of the world.
Question: Follow up on that, though, because if you make driving less expensive, then that changes the equation for many people who would choose transit.
Mayor Mamdani: I think for a lot of New Yorkers, it's not just a question of cost, it's also a question of time. And for me, the reason that I was supportive of Governor Hochul's actions to start to reduce auto insurance rates is that this is another way in which New Yorkers are being pushed out of the city. The focus will always be, how do we make it as easy as possible to get around this city, as cheap as possible, and there's no competition with public transit.
Question: If the president cuts funding to sanctuary cities, as he's directed to do, what would the impact be on New York City specifically? What is at risk for us?
Mayor Mamdani: Any cut in funding would have a significant impact on the city's ability to not only fulfill the budget that it has today, but also to fulfill an agenda that would ensure that more New Yorkers can afford to stay in this city.
And I am proud of the team that we have ready at hand to be able to respond to these kinds of threats, so that we are not simply on the defensive of the little that New Yorkers are given in this moment, but frankly, advancing a larger agenda as well.
Question: In terms of the dollar amount, you don't have a number of them?
Mayor Mamdani: I think it's hard to say a dollar amount in a moment such as this, but we take these kinds of threats seriously, and we also will not bargain with our values or our laws.
Question: You spoke about Steve Banks and the Law Department and fighting back that way. Are there other ways that your administration plans to fight back? Obviously, the Police Department funding relies on federal funding, and so, what are the ways beyond legally that you're planning to fight back? And it's just good to see [inaudible] part of your team.
Mayor Mamdani: We'll take that, absolutely. You have many tools in city government. You have the tools of a Law Department, of a potential Corporation Counsel. You also have the tool of informing New Yorkers of what their actual rights are. Today, we're gathered to tell New Yorkers about 3-K and Pre-K and how they can enroll, but as the question came earlier from Univision, there are many New Yorkers — it's not just a question of do they know about these programs. Do they know about their rights?
And we are going to be very direct with New Yorkers as to what protections they have under the law, because there is an anxiety that lives in many New Yorkers' day-to-day lives where they do not know what they can expect from their city and what safety that they have. And our job is to make it as clear as possible for them. This is a city that will stand up for them. This is a city that will also make the case for every New Yorker at every opportunity we get. Thank you.
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