Mayor Zohran Mamdani met Bronx families at the Mosholu-Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) on June 11 to help enroll those eligible to his 2-K program. The initial launch will be available for 2,000 families.
The program is at its pilot stage for families in high-need school zones, such as: Fordham, Belmont, Norwood, Marble Hill, Morris Heights, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Van Cortlandt Village and Kingsbridge, as well as parts of Kingsbridge Heights, Bedford Park, Mount Hope, Claremont- Bathgate and East Tremont.
“This is another exciting and important moment for early childhood education in New York City,” said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “We’re taking a thoughtful approach to giving our youngest learners a strong foundation, one that begins with listening to our community partners and responding to where families need us most.”
The goal of the 2-K program is to build a reliable early educational foundation to offer eligible New Yorkers a sense of economic relief to working-class families across the borough.
Norwood resident Nikki Brown emphasized the program’s significance — when she had her first child, she struggled for find affordable childcare and now has the opportunity to utilize the 2-K program for her second child, one-year-old Journee Brown, ahead of the upcoming school term.
“It’s a great lift off of my shoulders and getting back to the workforce,” Brown told the Bronx Times. “It’s a great relief for all of our moms— as we worry about our kids.”
Senator Gustavo Rivera, who represents the 33rd district, stressed the importance of MMCC to the community as it serves a full-horizon of different aged New Yorkers, from older adults to pre-k and childcare.
“Knowing that this program is gonna be rolled out throughout the rest of the city, but starting in the neighborhoods that are in my district – which I’m incredibly thankful for,” Rivera said.
In a conversation with the Bronx Times, Riviera spoke about how the Northeast Bronx faces issues of accessing affordable childcare, including children getting access to services.
Mike Halpern, Assistant Executive Director of MMCC, said the center will continue to assist families with registration.
“As a fixture in the community, we take pride in assisting the community with services that help them thrive,” Halpern said.
“We believe that the 2-K program is an important service to help the community, whether it is a working parent or it is simply for helping the children’s academic journey begin, programs of this sort is everything that MMCC focuses on.”
