New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling in Sugar Hill, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in New York City. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As Mayor Zohran Mamdani advances one of his administration’s core promises to expand free, universal child care, parts of New York’s private preschool system are becoming increasingly expensive, with providers raising fees and parents facing higher costs outside of new programs.The changes come amid a state-backed initiative under Gov. Kathy Hochul that aims to expand child care opportunities but also increases competition for workers and resources across the industry.

Parents object to tuition increase by 20%

Manhattan Schoolhouse, a private daycare chain on the Upper East Side that serves children ages 3 months to 5 years old and has a contract with the city Department of Education to operate pre-K and 3-K classes, has reportedly raised tuition for its full-time program to nearly $4,000 per month. according to a New York Post reportsParents were told earlier this year that tuition for the school’s 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. full-time program would rise to nearly $4,000 a month, about 20 percent more than last year. The decision sparked a backlash, with nearly 100 families signing a petition opposing the rate increase. One parent described the increase as “the equivalent of an additional $16,000 in pre-tax income for working parents, an amount that most families are unlikely to absorb in one year.”

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The first Manhattan school building location is at 1624 First Avenue

Another parent said, “Day care is not a luxury, it’s not like renting a yacht … and on top of that, they’re on the Upper East Side,” adding that limited options nearby leave families with little room to move around.School officials later released a revised pricing structure that lowered the monthly cost for some families by about $100, but parents said the change did little to ease the burden. Some also noted that the renewal came too late in the enrollment cycle to consider switching to another provider.

Suppliers point to costs and competition

Manhattan school building leaders say the increase reflects rising operating expenses and structural pressures from the city’s expanding child care program. Chief executive Kamila Faruki said competition for staff was increasing as more educators took better-paid positions in the public system. “Teachers who work at the Department of Energy, their wages are much higher, so we’re competing with them,” she said in an interview with the New York Post. “We’ve lost a lot of great teachers because of the way it’s structured…There’s a lot of programs that are closing because they can’t keep up.”Higher wages inevitably translate into higher fees, she added. “What does it do? [mean] We’re going to have to increase teacher salaries…the cost has to go somewhere,” she said.Faruki also pointed to rising operating expenses, including rising insurance premiums and an approximately 20% increase in food prices over the past year. “All of these costs are rising at double-digit rates, and we’re really trying to minimize those cost increases,” she said, adding that Manhattan Schoolhouse is priced 30-35% lower than competitors. “Last year we said ‘this has become unsustainable’,” she added, “and we have to really change.“

The launch of free childcare becomes the backdrop

The tuition hike comes as the city expands its publicly funded child care system. Mamdani and Hochul launched the 2-K pilot program as part of a broader program called 2-Care, which will provide free, full-day, year-round care for two-year-olds, starting with about 2,000 seats in select areas such as Washington Heights, Rockaway, Fordham and Canarsie.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the Sugar Hill Children’s Art Museum on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in New York City. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Backed by an initial commitment of about $500 million from the state government, the program will be funded entirely through state revenue, with annual costs expected to reach about $425 million by 2027 as the city expands to 12,000 seats. The expansion marks New York’s first major push for universal child care since 2018 and is part of a broader plan to provide child care for children six weeks to five years old, officials said. City officials acknowledged that the pilot program would cost about $36,500 per child, well above the average amount families currently pay for private child care. “One thing every family in New York can agree on is that child care is too expensive,” Hochul said, while Mamdani described the move as part of a broader effort to make the city more affordable for working families.

Already expensive system

Before the latest increase, child care costs in New York City were already among the highest in the country.city ​​auditor 2024 report found Families pay an average of about $23,400 per year for in-center child care, and total costs for infants and toddlers average about $26,000 per year. Home care costs are slightly lower at around $18,200, but both categories have risen significantly since 2019, up 43% and 79% respectively. By comparison, inflation in the New York area was about 20% during the same period, while average hourly wages increased by only 13%. The same report estimates that a family would need to earn about $334,000 per year to easily afford to care for a two-year-old in the city. For many families, rising costs have limited options. One parent said child care costs of $30,000 to $40,000 a year are “devastating for families,” while another parent, Danielle Avissar, an Upper East Side mom whose child is currently in the DOE’s Manhattan schoolhouse universal child care program, said she already pays more than $30,000 a year for after-school care for her two children and expects to pay another $300 starting next school year. “The reality is, if you’re a working parent and have a career, you’re going to have to pay [more]otherwise you have to find a caregiver,” she said.