Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning, everyone. It is a pleasure to be here in Washington Heights on the first day of school alongside Governor Hochul, Chancellor Samuels, parents, educators and an assortment of New York's cutest. I also want to acknowledge we have our deputy chancellor of Finance, Administration, Human Resources, Lindsey Oates, who is here with us; First Deputy Chancellor Danielle Giunta, who is with us; as well as the executive director of the Dominican Women's Development Center, Marielys Divanne. We want to say thank you to all of them for all the incredible work that they do. Thank you so much, Marielys.
Now, for children beginning their schooling journey at places like Mamá Tingó and across the city this morning, today is a day of firsts. It is the first time that they will hug their parents' goodbye at the classroom door, and the first they'll form a friendship over a shared crayon. And I'm so excited that they will do these things as the first members of New York City's inaugural 2-K class.
For many parents, today is also a day of motion. Some may have had to run back home to grab the backpack they packed twice. Many ate breakfast standing up or over the sink. Others may have budgeted more time than they thought they needed and still ended up sprinting to the childcare program in their neighborhood, which, while only being a few blocks away, is quite the distance when you're towing a toddler that won't stop talking about how much they love the color orange.
And yet, while this morning has brought a new kind of stress to thousands of young families across the city, it is the stress of excitement and new beginnings, not the stress of wondering whether they can afford to be here at all.
Once again, I would like to thank Governor Hochul for her partnership in making sure that is the case for the thousands of parents whose child will now have free 2-K in their neighborhood as a result of the state's partnership and leadership.
Today, I will be doing my best effort at matching the pace of a New York City parent. Ours is a city that never stops, that runs fast, and New Yorkers deserve a school system that does the same and works as hard as the people of the city do.
That is why today I'm also proud to announce that we are supporting educators across the public school system by providing them with the supplies and technology they need. We are training staff so that every purchase is made right the first time, and the classroom no longer has to wait on a second attempt. We are modernizing decades-old software so orders for paper and pencils will no longer fall through the cracks. And we are canceling the contracts that no longer serve our students, teachers and school staff.
These changes will save more than $100 million over the next two years alone; $100 million that we will be able to reinvest in our school system and use to support our educators, our staff and students as they prepare for another year of school.
As we usher in this new year, I want to thank all those who make days like today possible. To the custodian who arrived before sunrise to make sure a classroom was ready, to the bus driver who waited an extra minute because a child was still tying their shoes, to the teacher or paraprofessional who prepared tissues for a child who might cry at drop-off and a parent who might cry even harder.
You keep our schools and our city in motion every single day. You make it possible for our kids to learn in the quality schools that they deserve. And for that, every one of us here is always thankful. Thank you so much. And with that, I want to pass it over to our governor, Kathy Hochul.
Governor Kathy Hochul: Thank you, Mayor. It is so great to be here today. As a parent, it brings back memories of - yes, I was that parent who had to drop my kids off the first day of school and had to pull over a block away because I was sobbing so hard. And they weren't crying. I was a little surprised. I was the one who was emotionally distraught over that day.
But this is an extraordinary day. You cannot underestimate what this day means to thousands of New York City parents who cannot believe this gift they've been given: the fact that they don't have to worry about the expense of early childhood education or a childcare provider; that their children - 2,000 kids starting today - are in a safe, nurturing, loving environment.
So, to lift that burden off of parents, I know what that's like. And I'm so proud to stand here with the mayor. And I would say there are those who, one year ago, never could have envisioned this happening. One year ago, look what has transpired over this incredible year. It took an election, and it took a partnership. And I'm really proud that we could team up together here, Mayor, with you and our Chancellor Samuels and all those who are involved in this whole ecosystem of delivering even more for families in New York City and across New York State.
So, we got it done. We got it down. But we're not resting on our laurels. This is 2,000 families. This is sort of the early days, the experimental stage. Of course, there's always bugs to work out. Nothing happens that you finally get funded just this past spring. Months later, here we are. But next year, beyond the $73 million the state did, I am committed to $425 million next year's budget to make sure we can have even more families participate in this. And we'll keep it going. You don't start something this incredible and stop it.
And my commitment to all over New York, because we've spent already $12 billion on childcare and early education programs for our kids, we did $4 billion this year alone, $1.2 billion for the great City of New York, and we are expanding the 3-K program here across New York. But there are even places in New York State that do not have a 4-K program, not even yet. And I'm guaranteeing that there'll be a slot for every child in the next two years for our universal program across the state.
So, I just - I'm really excited to be here. And I talk to - I see the parents and the little kids, the little two-year-olds, little girl named Luna. I just couldn't let go of her. Maybe she couldn't let go of me. Is Luna here? Hi, Luna. Hi, sweetie. That's my new little buddy. Mom, can I take her home with me? Like my little comfort child. When things get rough? Hug Luna. That's what we get from kids: unconditional love.
But this is government at its best. This is government responding to the needs of families and parents. And I've always said your family is my fight. My fight today is for kids like Luna and all of her new classmates and her soon-to-be-made friends and the teachers who make this magic happen.
So, I want to thank everyone at Mamá Tingó and everyone who's part of the whole ecosystem, to all of our teachers, God bless you. You're doing God's work here on Earth, and we are so incredibly grateful. So, let's keep it going, everyone. Welcome to the first day of school here in New York City. Thank you.
Mayor Mamdani: And now our chancellor, Kamar Samuels.
Kamar Samuels, Chancellor, New York City Public Schools: Ah, good morning. Guys, this is the first day of school. It's our Super Bowl. Good morning. Look, I'm so happy it's the first day of school. I have two kids at home. I have a second grader and a 12th grader. You know, my second grader got up this morning, and she said, "Dad, I'm happy, but I'm really anxious as well." I was like, that sounds like the first-day-of-school feeling. And my son probably didn't wake up yet, and I'll have to call him after this.
So, to our families and staff and communities, thank you for being here. Thank you to our mayor and our governor for making this happen. Your leadership and your support is so critical to this city. And most importantly, to our cutest - New York's cutest - I cannot tell you how much I am excited to welcome you to school. Today is your first-ever first day of school. It's also my first day of school as being the chancellor of NYC school system. And I got to tell you, you know, this is just an exciting milestone to share with you.
Really, today is a milestone and a victory for every single New Yorker, this entire city. And as a working parent myself, I know firsthand how important childcare is and what it takes to live and raise a family in this city. And as a longtime educator, I know firsthand as well how important this is educationally.
Today we are helping families afford New York City and helping our youngest learners get a strong start in school and in life. Our students will have a year full of learning and exploration. They will explore shapes, colors, patterns. They will build early literacy, math skills, through books, songs, play and everyday activities. You can tell I love this stuff.
They will learn about the world around them, and just as importantly, they will interact with their peers and build friendships. And all while our families can rest assured that they are in a place where they are safe, where they're cared for and where they're growing.
Today is just the start - for both our students' educational journeys and their pathway to universal childcare. We will continue this work until every family has success and every family knows that this is exactly what they deserve.
And just as one, and this is just one of our things we're launching today. We are making big moves to support New York City students and families this year and to operate our system with a new level of efficiency. And we're all announcing something that's - that 2-K years are very excited about: some procurement reform.
We are not, but we're not - just on a serious note - not just accepting things that need to be done, that have been done the same way all the time. We are changing, from what childcare looks like to our city to another exciting announcement. As a taxpayer, I believe every dollar spent in our schools should be transparent, accountable and in the service of student success. It should not be challenging for our school districts, district leaders and school principals to get products and services to our students - the products and services they need to thrive.
For too long, New York City public schools' procurement and purchasing processes have been complex and difficult to navigate. We are fixing that today. We're modernizing contract software. We're training more than 10,000 employees. We're creating oversight and timeline procurement processes that are faster, ensuring that every single request and question is answered within one business day. Procurement hubs in each borough.
Just like 2-K, this is about making government work for New Yorkers. So, every - so that, so whether you are the family of a two-year-old entering a classroom for the very first time or a principal who is looking to make sure that you get services quickly, we know that we are creating a city that works for you every single day. That is our commitment. Thank you. Happy first day of school.
Question: I did want to check in on the waitlist for 2-K. Last we spoke, there was a - 2,000 children were selected off of a lottery of 5,700 applicants. Did that ever move? Did any families get into the program who didn't get an offer initially?
Mayor Mamdani: So, you know, one of the first things that I heard this morning was even just at Mamá Tingó is that there's more than 100-person waitlist or 100-child waitlist, rather, for two-year-olds. And schools have now started making offers off of the waitlist. So, that number is starting to move.
And we're excited because, as you've heard the governor say, this is something that is for 2,000 seats this year, 12,000 seats next year. And we are excited to keep working together because what we're talking about is something that is transformative.
We're talking about families not having to pay $20,000 a year at least for this kind of childcare and for the chance of a child like Luna or Lunita to be in a classroom alongside so many other children whose lives are now going to be transformed.
Question: What have you learned from the rollout of 2-K this year for 2,000 kids? 10,000 is a big expansion for next year. What have learned from how that went when it comes to things like paying the providers, which obviously a longstanding issue, but are you hopeful that you can do that a little bit more smoothly when you're scaling up? And I guess how do you get parents excited about this? I know plenty are, but there was a lot of effort to get people to apply. How do you get them confident in the program that it's going to be an option for them next year?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that the best way to win the trust of parents and earn their faith in this program is by delivering. And we've already been able to read the stories of so many parents who are now able to join the workforce because of this program, who are able, you know - I think the governor and I met a parent at our last announcement together who told us that now they were actually able to go back to work and what it was going to mean for their family and that they had found a placement at a center that was, I think, three blocks away from their home. Although that might feel like 12 blocks when you're walking with a toddler.
And what we also know, and whether it's at Mamá Tingó or wherever else across the city, the demand is far more than 2,000 seats, and that's an opportunity for us to scale this up not just to 12,000, but to always ask ourselves, how can we make this the program that New Yorkers deserve?
Because the governor has long said that our families are her fight and childcare has been her focus. And when we talk about cost-of-living crisis here in New York City, childcare is the driver after housing. For a family of three to afford childcare, just for a single child, $334,000 is how much they're supposed to make a year. That is far out of reach for most New York families. We have to be the difference there. I don't know, Governor, if you want to add anything.
Governor Hochul: No, we share the same priorities in that a lot of people talk about how New York City is very expensive. So, we're chipping away at those pressure points. And even when I was in other parts of the state talking about a universal four-year-old program, the average parent has to pay for private pre-K programs about $16,000 to $18,000 a year. So, I had two kids in a preschool program. I wasn't a working mom. It didn't add up.
So, when we can lift that off of parents when they're doing the calculation, "Can I afford to stay in the city that I was raised in, that I have a great job in, but life is getting so expensive" - and we take that stress point, that financial burden off of them, all of a sudden it becomes, "Yeah, I can afford to live in New York City." And that's exactly what we're driving for, as well as to the employers who should be listening to this. When you're trying to recruit the top talent from around the country - and we are the No. 1 destination for recent college grads - we want those college grads, when they start a family, to say, "I can finally stay here." And that's the scale of what we're talking about here. That's why this is so transformational.
Question: Numerous providers still tell us that they're waiting on money. What can you tell them today about how soon they'll either get their loans or payments from their contracts? And also, given these delays and the known structural issues with these contracts going back years, do you wish you had waited a year to implement 2-K?
Mayor Mamdani: I think it's critically important that we both address longstanding issues in our New York City Public School system and advance an agenda that makes it more affordable for families to stay in the city. You've heard it from the governor, and you've heard from me as well that so many families are being pushed out of the city, out of this state because they can't afford the cost of childcare. This is going to be transformative to that end. And for any provider that has reached out for a loan, we are turning those loans around in five business days. We have registered over 500 contracts, and when it comes to those loans, we've actually dispersed more than 300 thus far.
These are interest-free loans that we have also dispersed alongside the supplying of first-day-of-school supplies for a number of providers that may have needed it, and I want to also just say thank you to our chancellor and to New York City Public Schools staff who have been working around the clock to make sure that they're available for any and all concerns.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: My question about, in terms of this is, you know, and we've seen families in the past have left New York, have left public school. But now we're offering this tremendous opportunity. Looking into the future, how does keeping families in the New York City school system help to fund the school system? Because what we've seen is a lot of families that leave, and then that means schools are not funded, and then we end up with underfunded schools in neighborhoods such as this. So, can you talk a little bit about what this is doing so that hopefully in the future we might see a school system that has more funding?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I think it's an incredibly important point, which is how do we ensure the flourishing not just of each individual child, but for the system as a whole. And that is why today we didn't want it just to be an announcement of the first day of school, though that's incredibly exciting, but also coupling that with an announcement around procurement reform. Because the better that we can steward our public school system, the more faith that New Yorkers will have in that system.
And again, this is not a debate that we want to win on the rhetoric that we use. It's a debate we want on the results that we can deliver. And that's what we're looking to do, and that's why I have full confidence in our chancellor, because we have a vision of delivering excellence in our public school system, and it's all the more possible when you have a partner like Governor Hochul who looks at these children and sees the potential of our city.
Question: For the mayor and governor, are there any plans this year to start to clear the waitlist of over 25,000 kids waiting for childcare vouchers, which is the thing I hear most often from providers - is what the city and state could do to kind of immediately reduce the burden. And then on procurement reform, how do you square the effort to speed that process up with the new review that's now going to be required for ed tech contracts to make sure they comply with the new AI limitations?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that it is not only possible but necessary to be able to do both. And you heard it from the chancellor, one of the focal points of this proposal is one-business-day turnaround. So, it's not the fact of less review; it's the fact of a more rapid response.
And it is critical because in New York City, especially, time is money. And we see too much time being spent on delays that, when we look at where they come from, they're actually coming from within City government, and it's time to actually bring that to an end.
[Crosstalk.]
First, I just want to appreciate the governor for the funding that was provided allowed us to continue offering the vouchers that had been promised in years past. That is critically important to ensure that we can continue to deliver for those families who have come to rely on that. And also, we've been able to take away the cost of a number of those vouchers as well that we've seen were being charged to a number of lower-income New Yorkers.
And the conversations will always continue. The governor has supported childcare before I was in office and continues to be a leader on that. But our focus right now is how do we continue to steward that program and better deliver for families. I don't know, Governor, if you want to add.
Governor Hochul: No, the voucher program is a real lifesaver for families. When I first became governor five years ago, the income threshold was that if you earned $57,000 or less, you would get a voucher, which would help cap your cost for childcare at about $15 a week, which is quite extraordinary. But I knew there were many families underserved. That number is about $115,000. So, when you increase that, many more people are eligible - over 125,000 more kids - and we had to have the money to match that.
So, we did help the city earlier this year outside the budget to fill the gap that was created. So, we're trying to keep up with it. I know how important it is. And so, we're continuing to be committed.
Again, $12 billion on healthcare - I'm sorry, on childcare - five years ago was a fraction of that. So, we've been heavily, heavily, heavily investing $4.3 billion [in] this year's budget alone. And so, I'm committed to it, the mayor's committed, and you can count on that partnership for many years to come.
Question: I wanted to ask, with the first day of school and obviously the 9/11 anniversary tomorrow - with the 9/11 anniversary tomorrow, the Ccouncil is expected today to pass a resolution calling on Albany to pass legislation essentially to update the school curriculum around the 9/11 anniversary and aftermath. I wanted to see, do you think there are gaps currently in what New York kids are learning about 9/11 and the aftermath, and do you support the resolution?
Mayor Mamdani: I definitely support any resolution towards ensuring that we live up to the statement of "never forget." And we know that for many, many New Yorkers now, they were born in a world where 9/11 had already happened. So, it wasn't a personal experience as it was for so many of us. And I also want to credit the 9/11 Museum for the incredible work they do in providing that kind of education, [and] also in providing a number of modules for educators across the country to teach their students exactly that.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: What I'll say is that in terms of what we are currently teaching our students, it has the chancellor and my support, and also if there are any efforts to increase that kind of education towards greater awareness, I will also support those efforts.
Question: It's kind of still on topic, but going back to the payments to the providers, you know, I know you mentioned that everybody's getting these bridge loans that they've been seeking, but I guess are you frustrated that it came to the fact that they have to get a bridge loan?
You know, the way it typically works is they get a portion of their contract disbursed to them at the beginning of the year to allow them to do all of the setup that's required. These are people who don't make a lot of money [and] are often running these programs out of their homes. Is it frustrating for you that they're now in this financial position?
Mayor Mamdani: When we are talking about these kinds of providers, I think you are absolutely correct that they deserve not only recognition, but a real sense of appreciation from all of us for the incredible work that they do and the difference that they make for families across the city.
And as you said, sometimes we're speaking about centers, sometimes about home-based providers. And I was both proud and surprised to have apparently been the first mayor to visit a home-based provider earlier this year. And many New Yorkers turn to them because of the cultural and linguistic fluency that they have and can offer.
And when it comes to our goal, it is to ensure that we are registering every single contract. We have registered over 500 thus far. And also, that we provide these loans in the interim, in the process of that registration, so that no provider has to wait on registration to be able to access those kinds of funds. I am fully confident in our team in continuing that work. And also, we know that this is going to be a critical part of delivering universal childcare and we are looking forward to it. Thank you very much.
Question: These are also education on-topic, sort of. The first is about there was reporting that the English test scores for third and fourth graders had really declined over the last year. I know the chancellor isn't here, but I just wanted to get your take on what more the DOE can be doing to improve these test scores. I don't know if it's related to the literacy changes.
And the second is about a school bus shortage. This happens every school year, it seems like. There's delays and shortages, particularly for students with special needs, who have no other way to get to school. I just want to know what more you think the city can do. It's every single year, just like any first-day-of-school photo op, it seems like there are issues with busing, and it seems to affect the students who are most vulnerable. So, I just wanna get your take and what more will you be doing for that?
Mayor Mamdani: So, on your first question, Katie, we are continuing to support and increase our funding of New York City Reads and Solves. We think that that is critical in not only the question of literacy but also in response to the question of these scores.
And, to your second question, you know, every day is an opportunity to do more for the children of this city. And we will not accept that just because something has always been the case, that it will always have to continue to be the case.
When it comes to our buses, we are doing everything we can to ensure that every single student is able to get to school. For the vast majority of them, it means a bus route. For some of them it means prepaid rideshare cards as well as OMNY activation.
And we are also working at addressing this for what you described it as, which is a long-term issue. And that comes to conversations with union partners as well as within New York City public schools to ensure that as we get further into our tenure, we're not looking at the continuation of these kinds of issues.
Question: Because every mayor has said exactly what you have said, with some changes, and it hasn't changed. Anything specific that you've been doing?
Mayor Mamdani: Well, I think one thing I want to credit the team on is that there is a willingness to exhaust every option in front of them and an unwillingness to accept something as a longstanding problem and therefore part and parcel of a school year.
And so, in the conversations that we've been having, these are conversations about the procurement of additional buses, the conversations about the training of additional drivers, and the conversation about how we ensure that our goal isn't just the vast majority, but it is to meet the needs of every single student.
Question: Question for you regarding a primary race that happened last night in Rhode Island. There was a Democratic Socialist candidate, David Morales, who won against a Democrat in his primary. Wondering if you've had any overlap with him, and then also just sort of continuing the storyline questioning of Democratic Socialist candidates winning their primaries. What does that sort of say about the party and your reaction to that?
Mayor Mamdani: I think it comes back to what I've said before, which is: what is the Democratic Party, if not its voters? And we're seeing that the voters across this country are eager for not only a change but also for a vision of something that we are fighting for.
And I've spoken a lot about childcare this morning. I've often couched it as the second driver of the cost-of-living crisis. The first driver is housing. And the little that I do know about this soon-to-be new mayor is that one of the central issues in his race was around rent stabilization and around the importance of delivering on affordability not just as a goal, but as a result, and what we've seen is that his constituents agreed with exactly that.
