By Gus Saltonstall
ZIP codes on the Upper West Side are among more than 50 across New York City that will add more seats for 3-K schooling, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced earlier this week.
The 3-K program is free, full-day education for 3-year-old children in the five boroughs.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Mamdani announced that the city will add more than 1,000 new seats to the 3-K program in 56 ZIP codes, including in 10024 and 10025, which stretch from around West 77th to 110th streets, from Riverside Park to Central Park.
“For too long, families were promised universal 3-K but offered seats miles away — forcing them to pay out of pocket for child care or leave the city,” Mamdani said in the press conference. “Today we’re making a new commitment: government can deliver real relief from the affordability crisis. By making 3-K truly universal, we’re building a city where every New Yorker can afford to raise a family.”
The mayor did not specify how many new 3-K seats each ZIP code would get, including on the Upper West Side. The ZIP codes were selected in areas where the demand for the program had outstripped the number of available seats.
The new seats will be added for the upcoming school year, and families who have already applied to 3-K do not need to take any immediate action, but as new programs are confirmed and added, NYC Public Schools will notify families in those communities.
The new information this week came after Mamdani also said at the beginning of the month that he would be expanding the 2-K program, and earlier this year, when Gov. Kathy Hochul committed to providing more than $100 million in state funding to help pay for both the 2-K and 3-K programs.
The Upper West Side was not among the neighborhoods to receive new 2-K seats.
You can find out more about the 3-K expansion and check out all of the neighborhoods that are getting the added seats — HERE.
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Great job Mayor Mamdani!
My kids have now aged out of PreK so I won’t benefit directly but I hope this makes it easier and more affordable for other parents to raise their kids in the city.
Move Anderson to another district, move Center to where Anderson is, and use some of the freed up space to help PS9 with capacity and add a 3K classroom or two, as well as a second pre-k class. And do all of this in September 2027, not ramming it through this fall. As much as 9 needs the space, they can make do for a year so there is a more orderly adjustment.
This is a no-brainer. But the sacred cow Anderson will not be touched. They are taking up very valuable space and don’t need to be in that space – they can be anywhere.
Stop the nonsense please. You can’t have any convo without someone from Center making some comment
What are you talking about? Not a Center parent. Center has to move. I’m trying to think of a win-win. My suggestion seems to be one. Sorry if it inconveniences some Anderson families – someone is going to be inconvenienced here so why shouldn’t they draw the short straw?
Please direct your angst towards a more appropriate topic.
For years you have made snide comments about G&T programs on this site. “Stop the nonsense please” is appropriate.
Plenty of kids in 10023 were given 3K seats as far away as the Bronx. Hope they know what they are doing, but this is just 1,000 seats and the City doesn’t yet have a great track record of resource allocation.
Three years old — education or babysitting?
Assuming this is a real question—early childhood education is important from the very start. Certainly by 3 years, the idea that any preschool/nursery is simply “watching” the children is an antiquated concept. If you want a competent society going forward, gotta start the schooling young.
clearly you have no idea about early childhood education !!