MAMDANI’S FIRST 100 DAYS: City operations race to catch up with mayor’s child care push

Monday, March 2, marked the 61st day of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city’s finances. Here’s a summary of what the mayor did today.

With strong political backing and $1.2 billion in new state funding, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s universal child care effort is accelerating, but a City Council hearing Monday revealed that key operational systems, from permitting data to workforce planning, are still being built.

The first-ever meeting of the Council’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education, chaired by Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, was designed to chart “The Path to Universal Child Care.” Instead, it also became a detailed examination of how ready the city is to deliver on that promise.

“Our vision for universal child care is a system in which every family has access to free, high quality, culturally responsive care and education for all children under five, with care offered in a range of settings and delivered by caregivers and educators who are respected and fairly complicated,” said Emmy Liss, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. “Successfully implementing this vision will have a profound impact on our city.”

Liss outlined the Mamdani administration’s plan to expand 3-K, stabilize the child care voucher system, and launch a new free “2-care” program for two-year-olds beginning in fall 2026. The first year would serve approximately 2,000 children, expanding by 10,000 seats the following year.

By the end of Mamdani’s first term, Liss said, “we will provide access to every two-year-old in the city.”

Simone Hawkins, deputy chancellor for early childhood education, told council members that the city also plans to expand its School Day Plus pilot program, which offers free pre-kindergarten until 6 p.m. The program currently operates in 85 sites with 2,855 children enrolled, and officials hope to increase enrollment to 4,700.

She added that the city is also consulting with providers and families on the 2K program, exploring both full-day, full-year and traditional school-day options to better match provider capacity and family needs.

Council Speaker Julie Menin, who created the new body, framed the effort as both economic and social policy that the city “cannot afford to wait even longer.”

“Our economy requires universal child care,” said Menin.

She cited data showing that “approximately 300,000 parents left the workforce, mainly mothers, because they could not afford childcare,” adding that the loss amounts to “around $2.2 billion a year in lost economic output.”

But as lawmakers expressed support for the goal, they repeatedly pressed Mamdani administration officials on whether the city’s systems — from data collection and permitting to workforce recruitment and interagency coordination — are prepared for expansion.

Menin opened her questioning by asking about the status of the Child Care Advisory Board created under a 2022 local law. “Can you share, is there a date for the board to meet? What is now the composition of the board? Has it changed at all?” she asked.

Liss said the office has been meeting informally with providers and advocates and intends to formalize the board. She added that the administration would work with the Council to ensure it is “meeting the requirements of the bill.”

Menin noted that the previous administration “was clearly, as I mentioned, not in compliance at all with these bills,” signaling that lawmakers expect closer adherence moving forward.
Several council members zeroed in on the permitting process, which requires approvals from multiple agencies, including the Fire Department, Department of Buildings, and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

“Providers are frequently reporting long wait times for such a literally simple task,” Menin said. “What are the administration’s plans to cut through this bureaucracy?”

Liss responded that the administration is “taking a really close look at the permitting process” in coordination with DOHMH and other agencies and promised “an update on this in the next couple of weeks.”

When asked how many providers have applied for permits or renewals since the start of the year — and how many applications remain outstanding — Liss stated, “we’ll get that number from the Department of Health and get back to you.”

Menin called them “very rudimentary questions,” and that having access to basic operational data is imperative for the next hearing of the new body.

Council Member Lincoln Restler argued that reliable public data will be essential to ensuring universal access, advocating for the passage of Intro. 631, which would require the DOE to report comprehensive information on 3-K and pre K applications, seat availability and vacancies, as well as information on staffing and outreach efforts.

“Under the previous administration, we got very, very little information on 3k,” he said, adding that detailed breakdowns of seat vacancies were often delivered “the morning of the preliminary budget hearing.”

“It all starts with the data,” Restler said. “Once we have really good, consistent data that’s being provided in a timely manner, that’s available to the council, that’s available to the public, we can all put our best brains together to make sure that every child in New York City who needs an early childhood seat is getting it.”

Council members also raised concerns about whether the city has enough educators and early intervention providers to support expansion.

Hawkins said the department has “an early intervention transition team that works closely with DOHMH to support families as they transition from early intervention.”

But when pressed about recruitment strategies for therapists and service coordinators, Hawkins said, “We can’t speak to that particularly … because early intervention is not within the sphere of control for New York City public schools,” and pledged to follow up.

Liss noted earlier in the hearing that it will take a range of stakeholders to deliver all aspects of the universal childcare plan, acknowledging the need to significantly expand the number of trained professionals working in childcare who have so far “been underpaid and under-respected for too long.”

Gutiérrez asked Lis to describe the staffing and role of the Mayor’s Office of Child Care.

Lis said the office currently has “six full-time members” and plans to add staff through the budget process.

The office holds regular interagency meetings with the Departments of Education, Health and Mental Hygiene, and Administration for Children’s Services. “We’re hanging out a lot,” Liss said, describing the frequency of coordination meetings.

Throughout the hearing, the tone was largely collaborative. Council members repeatedly praised the administration’s commitment, and Lis told lawmakers, “We would not be here today without your efforts.” Still, the oversight session underscored that while political momentum is strong and funding commitments are in place, the mechanics of implementation remain a work in progress.

As Gutiérrez noted, building a universal system means navigating “different agencies,” “different funding streams,” “different rules,” and “different workforce structure.”

“When everything gets lumped together, it’s hard to see what’s really broken. So instead of treating childcare like one giant problem, we’re going to take it piece by piece,” said Gutiérrez.

Appointments: Small business czar 

Mamdani, who kept a relatively low profile on Monday, appointed Kenny Minaya to lead the Department of Small Business Services, placing a veteran city official with a background in consumer protection and tenant advocacy in charge of an agency central to his affordability agenda.

Minaya most recently served as first deputy commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, where he oversaw operations and finances. He joined the agency in 2016 as deputy chief of staff.

Before entering city government, Minaya worked at Catholic Migration Services and Make the Road New York, representing immigrant tenants in housing disputes in Brooklyn and Queens.

In an interview with New York Focus, Minaya said the administration intends to tie small-business policy more closely to what Mayor Mamdani has framed as an economic justice agenda. The mayor previously signed an executive order directing city agencies to review and reduce fees and civil penalties imposed on small businesses, which City Hall says must navigate more than 6,000 regulations and rules.

Minaya told the outlet that the agency will play a key role in implementing that order, including efforts to streamline permitting and fine structures. He will also oversee the implementation of recently approved street vending reforms, including expanding vendor licenses and creating a new Division of Street Vendor Assistance.

The Department of Small Business Services provides training, financial and technical assistance to businesses and oversees workforce development and commercial corridor programs across the five boroughs.

“Under Mayor Mamdani, we are ushering in a new era for small businesses in our city. I am deeply thankful for the Mayor’s trust and confidence and am proud to take on this responsibility,” said Minaya in a statement. “As the son of immigrant small business owners, I know firsthand the challenges that our entrepreneurs face. I am excited to partner with the dedicated public servants at SBS — whose work every day supports businesses in every neighborhood — and to bring both my experience in City government and my lived experience to this role as we work side-by-side with small business owners in all five boroughs.”  

Budget: Opposition grows to property tax hike threat 

Opposition to Mayor Mamdani’s threat to raise property taxes by nearly 10% if Albany does not approve higher taxes on the wealthy and top corporations came to City Hall on Monday. 

Council Member Susan Zhuang led a cadre of opponents from working-class neighborhoods calling on the mayor to remove a property tax increase from consideration and pursue a budget solution that does not rely on working families, saying the said the proposed hike would squeeze homeowners already struggling with rising costs and could drive up rents for tenants. 

“Homeowners in my district are already juggling mortgages, utilities, child care, and rising grocery bills,” said Zhuang. “A nearly 10% property tax hike is unfair and unacceptable. And when property taxes go up, rents go up right behind them. Working families shouldn’t be the fallback plan in a political standoff. We need a budget that protects New Yorkers, not one that burdens them with higher bills.”

Oster Bryan of the St. Albans Civic Improvement Association said the proposed increase would hit Black and brown communities disproportionately. “When housing costs rise, spending drops, opportunities shrink, and neighborhoods feel it,” Bryan said. “A near-10% property tax increase would ripple across our communities and hit renters just as hard as homeowners. We need stability and smart fiscal management, not policies that add more pressure.”

The mayor, for his part, has repeatably described the property tax hike as a “last resort” to close a multibillion‑dollar budget gap, saying his preferred option is to tax the wealthy and corporations instead.