Eric Adams positions himself as pro-education NYC mayoral candidate, announcing $80M funding surge

Mayor Eric Adams is spotlighting his child care accomplishments, in an apparent attempt to position himself as the pro-education candidate ahead of the general election by revealing a new $10 million pilot program that would expand free child care to low-income families.

Hizzoner touted his commitment to continuing former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s legacy to bring free universal child care to New Yorkers with less cash to spare — as child care and education become central to the race to City Hall,

“For years, the cost of living has driven many New Yorkers out of the five boroughs, but our administration has been taking action because we understand the best way to make the American Dream a reality for New Yorkers is by making our city more affordable for working-class families,” Adams said.

The mayor — who’s running for reelection as an Independent — drew special attention to a $10 million pilot program the city will begin rolling out in January of 2026 to expand access to infant and toddler care for kids up to 2 years old. The program will be free to low-income families throughout the city.

“This will be the beginning steps of ensuring universal child care for low-income families,” Adams said at a press conference Thursday.

“No one works harder for this city than parents who are attempting to raise their children under some difficult and economical challenges. And so we believe if we can continue to expand this universal child care for low-income families, it will send a clear, loud message that we are investing in these children at an early age.”

He also announced $70 million in funding to support pre-K special education students by increasing access to speech, occupational and physical therapy for preschoolers in need of such intervention.

“Far too often, universal pre-K wasn’t fully universal, since it left out children with special needs. But our administration has changed that,” Adams said of the funding increase.

Universal Pre and 3-K was the crown jewel of de Blasio’s lefty administration and an initiative that Adams has consistently championed. During April’s budget season, the unlikely pair joined forces to further highlight their accomplishments to the press.

In one cringe-worthy interview, though, de Blasio – who leans far more liberal than Adams – refused to endorse the current mayor for reelection on Dana Bash’s CNN show Inside Politics.

“I don’t have any intention to get involved in any way at this point, but I’m going to watch really closely,” said de Blasio, who still has yet to officially endorse in the NYC Mayor’s race, though he’s come to the defense of Democrat nominee Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary by a landslide last month, recently told the New York Times, de Blasio was the best NYC mayor to ever have the job, despite his rather polarizing tenure. 

The socialist hasn’t made education a central platform of his campaign, but has promised to implement free childcare for New Yorkers 6 weeks to 5 years old, in line with Adams’ plan – though he doesn’t support full mayoral control of the school system, opting instead for co-governance. 

The Queens assemblyman also recently snagged a major endorsement from the city’s teachers’ union, the United Federation of Teachers, undermining Adams’ position.

The group applauded his pledge of “revamping mayoral control [of schools] to give more say to educators and parents,” in a resolution recommending the endorsement. 

New York City currently has 71,349  Pre-K seats for all eligible 4-year-olds and 48,000 for eligible 3-year-olds.