A new independent budget analysis shows that NYC Mayor Eric Adams made budget cuts to vital pre-K and 3-K programs totaling almost $400 million dollars since he took office, sparking concern among parents throughout the city who rely heavily on the child care programs.
The Independent Budget Office (IBO), a department that provides city officials and the public with budget information, found that in total, the reductions to the universal pre-K and 3-K budget have amounted to $283 million in 2024 and $399 million in 2025.
What is the future of pre-K and 3-K in NYC?
amNewYorkMetro reached out to the mayor’s office and the Department of Education asking if the cuts would affect seating and other parts of the programs, but did not immediately hear back. But according to officials at the IBO, the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget said that the plan to achieve the budget reductions “has not yet been finalized.”
If the cuts result in a reduction of seats—or worse, the elimination of the programs— tens of thousands of NYC parents will be left without reliable and affordable child-care options.
Rebecca Bailin, executive director of the group, New Yorkers United for Child Care (NYUC), called the cuts “a real concern” for parents—including working parents—who are worried about the future of the programs.
“It’s hard to say where these cuts are coming from,” Bailin said. “People are having kids in New York and staying here in part because they knew they could depend on 3-K and pre-K. Now they feel the rug being pulled out from under them.”
What are parents and advocates saying?
Bailin, along with the members of the Day Care Council of New York, is calling for the mayor to not only restore the funding, but prioritize the roll out of universal 3-K, which she said has taken a backseat under the current mayoral administration.
Bailin and other parents are also upset that the mayor has not been forthcoming about the cuts.
“The mayor and the city have not been transparent about their cuts,” she said. “It’s been a scramble to find any information. We know anecdotally and now from this report that the city isn’t advertising the 3-K spots and they’re certainly not doing the outreach that the former administration was doing for pre-K and the beginnings of 3-K.”
Many New Yorkers don’t know about universal 3-K because of the lack of promotion, Bailin said.
“If there are empty seats, that would be why,” she added.
Child care has expanded in the city over the previous 10 years, starting with the launch of pre-K for All under former mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration in 2014. The program expanded the next year, growing from 51,500 to 70,000 students. de Blasio later added 3-K for All in 2017, and by 2022 almost 40,000 children were enrolled in the program.
Jesus Bracamonte, a member of NYUC who has two preschool-aged daughters, called the cuts a “huge betrayal” as the city continues to battle an affordability crisis.
“Between rent, groceries and regular day care, I thought I could rely on at least saving the cost of 3-K and pre-K,” the Queens resident said. “My oldest child is enrolled in 3-K right now, and it’s made a huge difference for our budget, saving us $30,000 a year. But with after-school and my 2-year-old’s day care, we still pay more than $31,000 a year. My wife and I don’t know what we’d do if we couldn’t get our kids into 3-K and pre-K. The mayor should be expanding these programs, not eliminating them.”
Brooklyn/Queens City Council Member Jennifer Gutierrez, who filed a universal child care bill last year, said the IBO report is concerning for parents and children.
“The millions of dollars slashed from pre-K and 3-K programs not only undermines the well-being of families but also erodes the foundation of our city’s future,” she said. “It’s time for the mayor to prioritize the restoration of funding and recommit to the promise of universal child care for all.”
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