City mounts multilingual blitz to reach every eligible family before enrollment closes
A Citywide Sprint to Fill Pre-K and 3-K Seats
In the final hours before the February 27 enrollment deadline, the Mamdani administration deployed every tool at its disposal to reach New York City families eligible for free Pre-K and 3-K programs. Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined children in Morningside Heights to build a snowman while simultaneously reminding parents that the application deadline was that evening at 11:59 p.m. The scene captured something essential about the administration’s outreach approach: direct, community-rooted, and willing to meet families wherever they are, even in a snowbank.
A Six-Week Campaign Across All Five Boroughs
The push to enroll children in the city’s universal early childhood programs began six weeks before the deadline and grew in intensity as the date approached. The administration ran advertisements on LinkNYC kiosks, NYC Ferries, and inside taxi cabs, with messaging in multiple languages. Faith leaders, elected officials, and community-based organizations were enlisted to spread the word in their networks. The Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, led by Executive Director Emmy Liss, coordinated the effort. Liss appeared on NY1, 1010WINS, and WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show in the final days, walking listeners through the application process. Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels and Deputy Chancellor Simone Hawkins visited families in Lower Manhattan to help them complete applications in person.
Ocasio-Cortez Joins the Push
One of the week’s most notable outreach moments came via a Spanish-language video featuring both Mayor Mamdani and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, explicitly emphasizing that the programs are open to all eligible families regardless of immigration status. In a city where fear of immigration enforcement has suppressed participation in public programs for years, that message carried weight. The video was part of a broader effort to ensure that the administration’s universal child care vision reached the communities most likely to self-exclude due to uncertainty about eligibility or fear of enrollment records being used against them. Mamdani has repeatedly emphasized that city services are available to all New Yorkers.
What the Programs Offer
Pre-K and 3-K programs in New York City are free, full-day, and open to children turning four or three years old during the school year. The programs are operated through the New York City Department of Education and a network of community-based organizations, providing structured early learning environments that research consistently shows have long-term educational benefits. Families can apply online through myschools.nyc, visit a Family Welcome Center in person, or call 718-935-2009. The city has invested significantly in expanding these programs under successive administrations, and Mamdani has made universal child care one of his central campaign promises, pledging to work with Governor Kathy Hochul to eventually extend publicly funded care to children from birth. The National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University has documented the measurable academic benefits of quality pre-K programs, providing the policy foundation for expansions like the one Mamdani is pursuing. Governor Hochul has expressed strong interest in collaborating with the administration on child care expansion.
The Stakes for Working Families
For New York City families, the cost of private child care has become one of the defining financial pressures of the past decade. The average annual cost of center-based infant care in New York City exceeds $25,000, according to data from Child Care Aware of America. Free, high-quality Pre-K and 3-K programs represent a meaningful financial lifeline for working parents, particularly in low- and middle-income households where child care costs can consume a third or more of family income. The administration’s outreach effort reflects an understanding that program quality alone does not guarantee participation. Enrollment requires families to know the programs exist, trust them, access application platforms, and navigate bureaucratic steps that can be daunting in any language. By mobilizing city agencies, elected officials, faith communities, and celebrities to spread the word, the Mamdani administration bet that saturation outreach could move the needle on participation rates. Child Care Aware of America tracks affordability and access data that provides national context for why universal pre-K enrollment campaigns like this one matter beyond New York’s borders.
