In January 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood alongside Governor Kathy Hochul to announce a landmark step toward universal free childcare for all children under five in New York City. On day eight of his administration, Mamdani declared: “Raising a child takes a village; and it takes a city government willing to step up and tackle the child care crisis head-on.” The programme he is implementing – free childcare for two-year-olds, expanding to cover all children from six