City Island parents with 3-year-olds now have the opportunity to send their young children to school as the neighborhood launched its first 3-k program in the fall of 2025 at P.S. 175.
New York City’s 3-K program — a free, full day program for 3-year-olds in the city — began in 2017. In the Bronx, enrollment included 5,957 children in non-Family Child Care Network (FCCN) programs and 1,185 children in FCCN programs.
Across the borough, 255 schools offered 3-K, along with 490 family childcare providers in the Bronx and 1,447 providers citywide.
On City Island, there is one 3-K program, which enrolled 17 students with a capacity of 18 seats in both fall of 2025 and fall of 2026.
For six years, Bronx Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, chair of the New York Assembly’s Education Committee, advocated for 3-K on City Island.
“My staff and I, in coordination with community-based groups on City Island, have been pushing for 3PK and UPK services in this neighborhood since they were lost pre-pandemic,” Benedetto said.
“I am grateful that, after extensive discussion with the Department of Education and continuous prodding by my office, they saw the need for this program on City Island.”
One parent, Theresa Cavinee, is quite pleased about the new 3-K program at P.S. 175 and spoke with the Bronx Times on how the program has impacted her family and others on the island.
According to Cavinee, not having 3-K in the community has been an issue for many parents. Finding childcare and or paying for daycare is not easy or cheap, she said.
Now parents with toddlers can breathe a sigh of relief, Cavinee said.
“We’ve never really had any pre-school on the island for anyone under 3-years-old,” she said. “It has been a much-needed addition to the community.”
While Cavinee only lives a few blocks from the school, the 3-K program makes her life much easier, she said. It allows her son Daniel to attend school, receive an education and make friends.
The 3-K program was long overdue on the island, and she hopes it expands to other neighborhoods in the Bronx.
“It was a welcome surprise,” she said. “We’ve been asking for this for a long time. Daniel has had a great experience and loves going to school there.”
