At a City Hall press conference in Lower Manhattan, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a revamped Mayor’s Fund board and a new Child Care Action Fund aimed at helping build the infrastructure for universal child care in New York City.
Video: Mayor Mamdani Holds a Press Conference to Make an Announcement.
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Mayor Mamdani Launches Child Care Action Fund, Sets $20 Million Goal Through Public-Private Partnership
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NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani used a press conference at City Hall’s Blue Room on April 16 to unveil what he called a “new era of public-private partnership” for New York City, centered on a restructured Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and a new Child Care Action Fund. The administration said the fund’s goal is to raise $20 million in 2026 to help support the long-term buildout of universal child care citywide.
Mamdani said philanthropy can help accelerate public priorities that city government is already pursuing, especially around affordability. He framed the Mayor’s Fund as a vehicle to support initiatives tied to food insecurity, public safety, and, most prominently, universal child care for children “6 weeks and up,” while stressing that government remains responsible for delivering the core public goods.
The mayor also announced that Chief of Staff Elle Bisgaard-Church will chair the Mayor’s Fund board as the administration reshapes the nonprofit’s mission around the needs of working New Yorkers. City Hall said the new board includes representatives from education, labor, philanthropy, and civic engagement, including a Bronx public school teacher and a former longshore worker.
The administration said the new Child Care Action Fund already has more than $3.5 million committed, with support announced from the Marguerite Casey Foundation, New York City Forward Fund, and Robin Hood. According to the mayor’s office, the money will be directed toward five priorities: family outreach and engagement, direct support for providers, workforce development, physical capacity building, and research and innovation.
During the event, Marguerite Casey Foundation President and CEO Carmen Rojas said her foundation is committing $3 million to the effort, describing universal child care as a practical response to rising costs facing working families. Representatives from the philanthropic sector said the fund is intended to support projects that can help government deliver visible results for New Yorkers.
City Hall presented the initiative as a complement to the state’s larger early-childhood investment rather than a replacement for it. Mamdani said the city is already moving ahead with a $1.2 billion partnership with Governor Kathy Hochul on child care expansion, while the new philanthropic fund is meant to help test, pilot, and scale ideas that may not be covered by existing public dollars. Reuters previously reported that the state-backed rollout of the mayor’s “2-K” child care program is being supported by that broader state commitment.
The press conference later shifted into a wider question-and-answer session, with reporters asking Mamdani about budget pressures, policing, City Council legislation, sports ticket prices, and his criticism of former Mayor Eric Adams. But the centerpiece of the event remained the administration’s attempt to build outside financial support for one of Mamdani’s signature policy goals: expanding access to child care across New York City.
In its official announcement, City Hall said donor disclosures will be made annually, with the administration emphasizing transparency and integrity as it seeks to deepen ties with foundations, nonprofits, and other private partners. Whether the new fund reaches its $20 million target could become an early test of how much philanthropic support Mamdani can mobilize behind his affordability agenda.