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New York City received more than 50,000 applications for its free preschool programs in just two weeks, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Friday.

That number is about half of the total applications the city received last year for its 3-K and prekindergarten programs 鈥� some 94,840. But families of 3- and 4-year-olds still have nearly a month to apply, and many families often wait until the end of the application window since applications are not accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Applications remain open through Feb. 27.

鈥淓very child deserves access to free, high quality childcare 鈥� and we鈥檙e making sure families across the city know that now is the time to enroll in 3-k and pre-K,鈥� Mamdani said in a statement.

Mamdani seems to be taking a page from Mayor Bill de Blasio鈥檚 playbook, when the former mayor launched the city鈥檚 massive free pre-K program a decade ago and made outreach a major focal point. De Blasio鈥檚 administration to get the word out, particularly in low-income neighborhoods where families were less familiar with the city鈥檚 new offerings, and staffers called families of 4-year-olds across the city to encourage them to apply.

Former Mayor Eric Adams, however, did not focus as much on outreach, complained City Council members, who fought for more funding to to families. Last year, about 1 in every 5 seats for the city鈥檚 free child care programs for children ages 4 and under, or more than 27,000 of roughly 136,000 seats, went unfilled,

The new mayor has a vested interest in making sure : Not only did he vow to strengthen the city鈥檚 3-K program and ensure that it鈥檚 truly universal, showing the demand for the city鈥檚 existing programs will help shore up support for his 2-Care program for the city鈥檚 2-year-olds.

In her recent executive budget proposal, Gov. Kathy Hochul to help New York City roll out its 2-Care program and committed to invest $500 million over two years in the program. The city is aiming to create 2,000 new child care seats for 2-year-olds in high-need areas of the city in the fall, then grow to 8,000 seats the following year, and reach all of the city鈥檚 2-year-olds by the end of Mamdani鈥檚 first term.

On Friday, Mamdani visited a home-based child care provider in Manhattan鈥檚 Chinatown as a way to show his commitment to the providers who operate out of home and often offer care that is culturally and linguistically responsive to families in their communities.

The administration will likely have to rely heavily on home-based providers to scale up its 2-Care program, which will pose many logistical hurdles. That from losing kids to 3-K and pre-K programs and the COVID pandemic. More recently, the Trump administration鈥檚 have affected the immigrant-heavy workforce, advocates and providers have said.

Emmy Liss, a former de Blasio administration staffer who is heading the mayor鈥檚 Office of Child Care, acknowledged that not all home-based providers fared well in the rollout of the city鈥檚 3-K and pre-K programs.

鈥淲e want to work closely in partnership with them in this next phase of work, because we cannot do this work without them,鈥�

Families can apply to 3-K and pre-K online through or by calling 718-935-2009. City officials said any family that applies by the deadline will receive an offer.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at .

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