NEW YORK — The first cohort of New York City’s free child-care programs for 2-year-olds will open this fall in five local school districts, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday in upper Manhattan.

The priority neighborhoods include Manhattan’s School District 6 in Washington Heights and Inwood; the Bronx’s School District 10 in Fordham, Belmont, Kingsbridge and Norwood; Brooklyn’s School Districts 18 and 23 in Canarsie, Ocean Hill and Brownsville, and Queens’ School District 27 in Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Howard Beach, Woodhaven and the Rockaways.

“There are so many New Yorkers who have grown up in this city and have had to leave this city because of the cost of living across these five boroughs,” Mamdani said during a news conference at the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum.

“Our dream is not only to make this a place where every New Yorker can stay. It’s also a dream where every New Yorker can come back home.”

Children who live in those districts will have first dibs on the new programs, regardless of income levels or immigration status. Applications are slated to open early this summer, with rolling admissions through the fall to sign up children turning 2 after the school year begins.

The 2-K program will launch with 2,000 seats in September, before expanding to 12,000 seats during the 2027-28 school year. The initiative is expected to scale up citywide by the end of Mamdani’s first term.

Hochul has allocated $73 million for the program’s first year and $425 million for its second year, without resorting to tax hikes. The governor, who is up for reelection in November, has not committed funding for the later years, though she indicated that she plans to continue supporting the program.

“The State of New York is not walking away,” the governor said. “This is something I believe in to my core. There’s no way I could walk away from a commitment to these beautiful little children — not now, not ever.”

Neighborhoods were selected based on need — including the child poverty rate and lack of child-care access — as well as where providers could scale up quickly.

“These Phase 1 districts represent communities where we know we can make a real difference right away,” said Kamar Samuels, Mamdani’s schools chancellor. “We can expand access now, and we can do it the right way — with strong support for all students. But let me be clear, for families in districts not included in Phase 1: We will see you soon.”

After the news conference, Mamdani told reporters that his administration plans to announce more school districts that will also join 2-K next year, in addition to the first cohort.

“One thing that I can tell you for certain is that it will also extend into Staten Island,” he said, acknowledging the only borough left out of the original group.

Key questions remain about how the Mamdani administration plans to operationalize the program, many of which were voiced during a City Council hearing Monday — from hiring enough teachers to cutting through bureaucratic red tape.

Emmy Liss, Mamdani’s top child-care official, told the Daily News that sites have not been selected yet, though providers responded to a request for information last month if they were interested in hosting the program funded by the government.

“Now that we’ve identified the districts, we’ll be following up with providers in those specific communities who expressed interest, so that they can submit a more detailed proposal,” Liss said.

“From there, we’ll determine who’s going to offer services this fall, and we’ll share that information with families as soon as we have it.”

For many New York City families, the assistance could not come quickly enough. According to a report last year from the comptroller’s office, a family would need to earn $334,000 to afford the cost of care for a 2-year-old in the city — roughly four times the median family income.

Suz Kroeber, a Washington Heights mom of two children, said she and her wife were shut out of 3-k last year for their oldest child. Now, though, Kroeber feels more confident about their chances of securing free child care for their younger son when he’s old enough.

“We have a new baby at home,” said Kroeber, a member of the advocacy group New Yorkers United for Child Care. “And knowing that 2-K will be there when he turns 2 changes everything about how we think about the future, instead of pinching every penny to cover day care.”

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