Free child care pilot program to launch for city municipal employees
A free weekday child care pilot program is expected to open this fall for municipal city workers, the mayor announced.
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On a mission to advance his universal child care campaign promise, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expanding free child care to all city workers at the David N. Dinkins Municipal building, including employees at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
A $10 million renovation is underway on a 4,000-square-foot facility inside 1 Center St. The program will be held on the first floor in the building's North Tower and provide year-round child care to children ages 6 weeks to 3 years old weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to city officials.
“Change begins at home. As we deliver universal child care to New Yorkers, that work must include the public servants who keep this city running,” said Mayor Mamdani.
To qualify for the program, people must be full-time DCAS employees, regardless of work location or a full-time city employee who works out of 1 Centre St. and a parent or legal guardian of a child between the ages of 6weeks and 3 years old.
The mayor says they are allocating $2.3 million from the executive budget for the program, and it will be operated by a contracted childcare provider that has not yet been announced.
Applications for eligible parents will open on April 30th, and parents will be notified if they are selected in June. Those who are not accepted will be placed on a waitlist.
The facility renovations are anticipated to be complete by this fall.
