NYC: Eastern Parkway Library Renovation, Queens Flood Infrastructure, Childcare Payment Delays, Year-Round Outdoor Dining – Mayor Mamdani

Mayor Mamdani Breaks Ground on $36 Million Transformation of Eastern Parkway Library

Major renovation will expand the branch by more than 50%, make it accessible and preserve its historic architecture

NEW YORK – Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner Paul A. Ochoa and Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda E. Johnson today announced the start of a $36 million project to renovate and expand the Eastern Parkway Library, increasing the branch’s public space by more than 50% while preserving its historic site architecture. DDC expects construction to be completed in summer 2028.  

“Libraries are where New Yorkers go to learn, discover and imagine what is possible, and they deserve spaces that meet the needs of our city today,” said Mayor Mamdani. “This $36 million investment will make Eastern Parkway Library fully accessible, more energy efficient and more welcoming, while honoring the architecture that has made this branch a beloved part of Crown Heights for more than a century. With more natural light, a green courtyard, a reading terrace and spaces for kids, teens and families, we are giving New Yorkers a library worthy of the community it serves.”

Rendering of the renovated Eastern Parkway Library exterior.

“The Eastern Parkway Library has served Brooklyn for over a century. The renovation — which will bring more natural light into the branch, add modern technology and create inspiring spaces — will ensure that Eastern Parkway Library can serve the community for another 100 years,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library. “Thanks to Settlement Housing Fund, Amazon and IKEA, we are opening a temporary library in the neighborhood this fall, ensuring vital library services remain accessible throughout the construction process.”

“The Eastern Parkway Library is an architectural gem in the Crown Heights community and one of the busiest libraries in Brooklyn, and we are thrilled to break ground on this amazing project,” said DDC Commissioner Paul A. Ochoa. “This project is not only upgrading the interior of this unique, two-story building, but we are also making it fully ADA-compliant and expanding public space by more than 50%! This is what the community asked for, and what we’ll be delivering.”  

The Eastern Parkway Library has served the Crown Heights community since 1914. The Carnegie library is a two-story Classic-Revival building with a limestone façade and distinctive long, arched windows. The library features double-height reading rooms with abundant natural light and mezzanines overlooking the lower floor.   

The expansion will add a large glass façade to bring more natural lighting into the library and make the building fully ADA-compliant with a new elevator and entrance ramp. The redesigned branch will include dedicated reading and learning spaces, including a multipurpose room with a projector, a main reading room, a teen zone, two children’s zones, a STEAM room, a community room and a classroom in the restored fireplace room. 

Renderings of the renovated Eastern Parkway Library interior.

Renderings of the renovated Eastern Parkway Library interior.

Mayor Mamdani Expands Access to Free Panoramic Experience Atop the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building 

Large groups and walk-in access will give nearly 2,000 visitors a month the chance to take in views from Centre 360

Since opening in June, reservations have booked out in less than two minutes  

REMARKS AS PREPARED: MAYOR MAMDANI DELIVERS REMARKS AT DEPARTMENT OF PROBATION GRADUATION CEREMONY

Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Kamar Samuels Launch Sweeping Overhaul to Fix Child Care Payment Delays

Whole-of-government effort underway to expedite payments and ensure providers can open on the first day of school  

$43 million investment will transform New York City Public Schools’ Division of Early Childhood Education and prevent future payment delays

NEW YORK – Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels today announced a comprehensive overhaul of the City’s child care procurement process and New York City Public Schools’ Division of Early Childhood Education to better support child care providers and ensure they can continue serving New York families.   

The Mamdani administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to ensure providers can open their doors on the first day of school by expediting interest-free bridge loans, accelerating contract registration and delivering critical supplies directly to providers. The overhaul also includes a $43 million investment to transform NYCPS’ Division of Early Childhood Education, restoring staffing capacity and implementing reforms designed to prevent future contracting and payment delays.   

“As a parent of three, I know firsthand the importance of finding a safe and affordable child care program. Our families and our small business owners cannot wait for contracts to clear — they need access to child care now,” said Chancellor Samuels. “Our families shouldn’t have to worry about their child care provider being able to pay the bills, and our providers should be focused on getting their classrooms ready for learning — not wondering when a check will come. Mayor Mamdani and I are absolutely committed to addressing the current issues now, and reforming our processes so this does not happen again.”  

“Early childhood education providers have been grappling with cash flow and other contracting challenges for many years. To achieve our shared vision of a universal birth to five system, this administration must address all the issues that have perpetuated this dynamic. These proposed reforms are important and will go a long way to stabilize the system. We appreciate Mayor Mamdani for making this commitment to providers, and we look forward to working with the mayor and his team to build a system that will last,” said Susan Stamler, Executive Director, United Neighborhood Houses.  

“As the City moves toward universal child care, the Day Care Council of New York appreciates Mayor Mamdani’s recognition of the tremendous financial strain facing providers, driven by long-persisting contracting and invoicing delays, and his Administration’s decisive steps to strengthen staffing across City agencies and reinforce contracting and payment systems after years of underinvestment,” said Tara Gardner, Executive Director of the Day Care Council of New York. “These immediate actions are critical to helping providers address operating expenses incurred for summer programming, meet payroll, retain staff and continue providing uninterrupted care to children and families. Just as importantly, the City’s upcoming early childhood reprocurement presents an opportunity to build on these reforms with contracts that provide greater stability and prevent these cash-flow crises from continuing to burden an already undervalued and overextended workforce.”  

PREPARING FOR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:   

The Mamdani Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to ensure approved providers have the resources and support they need to open on the first day of school. These efforts include:   

• FAST-TRACKING CONTRACT REGISTRATION: Deploying additional staff from across City government, including every available contracting staffer at New York City Public Schools, to finalize outstanding contracts and quickly deliver them to the City Comptroller for registration and payment. These efforts have effectively tripled the number of staff working on early childhood contracts and increased the pace of contract review by several weeks.  

• EXPEDITING INTEREST-FREE LOANS: Accelerating the processing and disbursement of interest-free bridge loans, which will be processed within five business days of submission, provided all required materials from vendors are complete. Once received, bridge loans are ultimately reconciled through the provider’s NYCPS budget. Providers will not be required to take additional action or directly repay the bridge loan after receiving it.  

• DELIVERING CRITICAL SUPPLIES: Delivering schools supplies and other essential resources, including toys, diapers, educational materials and more, directly to any provider who needs it, ensuring they have the tools necessary to welcome children on the first day of school at no cost.  

• DIRECT PROVIDER OUTREACH: Calling and emailing every affected child care provider directly to ensure they have the support they need to open on the first day of school and to walk providers through the interest-free bridge loan application process.  

• ENHANCING COMMUNICATIONS: Increasing the staff assigned to monitoring incoming communications so child care providers receive timely, accurate and informed responses to their questions.  

TRANSFORMING DIVISION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION:   

The Mamdani Administration is investing $43 million to transform the NYCPS Division of Early Childhood Education. The investment will support the initial reforms outlined below, and the incoming Deputy Chancellor for Early Childhood Education will be charged with building on this work to create a system that prevents future contracting and payment delays.  

• RESTORING HEADCOUNT: Rebuilding the division’s staffing after its capacity was reduced during the prior administration, starting with the initial hiring of more than 200 employees dedicated to this work. The investment will expand contracting and enrollment outreach capacity and rebuild provider support ratios that have been severely diminished.  

• PROCUREMENT REFORM: Implementing procurement and contracting reforms that establish clear timelines for every stage of the contracting process and centralize key functions to eliminate the administrative bottlenecks that have left providers waiting for the resources they are owed.  

• COMMUNICATIONS OVERHAUL: Launching a top-to-bottom overhaul of how NYCPS communicates with child care providers and bringing these small businesses into the center of the system’s work. This will include a new commitment to transparency, clear communication and stronger service for families and providers.  

• ENHANCINGFEEDBACKCHANNELS: Creating structured opportunities for child care providers and families to share feedback directly with the City and participate in policymaking discussions in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education as the administration works toward models of true co-governance.

Fast Buses: Mayor Mamdani Breaks Ground on 116th Street Overhaul to get 65,000 Riders Moving 

New bus lanes, protected bike lanes and pedestrian safety upgrades will transform a critical Manhattan crosstown corridor 

Mayor Mamdani Signs Bill Making Year-Round Outdoor Dining a Permanent Part of New York City

NEW YORK – Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today signed legislation into law establishing permanent, year-round outdoor dining on New York City roadways.

Int. 0655, sponsored by Council Member Lincoln Restler, amends a previous law that required restaurants participating in the City’s outdoor dining program, Dining Out NYC, to remove roadway dining setups November 30 through March 31, a requirement that did not apply to sidewalk cafes.

The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) will promulgate rules in the coming months allowing restaurants to temporarily winterize roadway dining setups.

“Outdoor dining transformed our city once before, and now we are making sure it has a permanent place in New York City,” said Mayor Mamdani. “The previous law forced small businessowners to dismantle and rebuild their outdoor dining setups every year, adding unnecessary costs and making it harder for neighborhood restaurants to plan for the future. With the legislation we’re signing today, our favorite restaurants can continue bringing New Yorkers together over good food and great company in every season. I’m grateful to Council Member Restler for championing this legislation and helping ensure that our streets work for the small businesses and communities that make this city what it is.”

“The Adams-era regulations nearly broke outdoor dining, but this law will successfully restore outdoor dining to neighborhoods across the five boroughs,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler. “Too many restaurants and cafes have been locked out of our roadway dining program by unnecessary red tape and seasonal restrictions. We are transforming the public realm by making it easy for thousands of restaurants to offer roadway dining. Outdoor dining is great for local restaurants, great for the hospitality sector workforce and great for all of us to be able to enjoy a meal on the streets of New York City. I’m grateful to Mayor Mamdani, Speaker Menin and my colleagues in the City Council for strongly supporting this bill.”

“Our entrepreneurs deserve a city that creates pathways for them to grow, adapt and succeed. Intro. 0655 gives them greater flexibility to serve their neighbors, grow their businesses and create opportunity year-round,” said Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry. “As Chair of the Committee on Small Business, I’m proud to support a bill that recognizes that when we reduce red tape for entrepreneurs, we strengthen our neighborhoods and build a stronger local economy for everyone. Thank you to Mayor Mamdani, Speaker Menin and my Council colleagues for their partnership in moving this work forward.”

“New Yorkers love dining outside, and outdoor seating makes our streets more vibrant while helping support the small businesses we cherish. NYC DOT built a successful permanent outdoor dining program that created cleaner, more accessible and more resilient roadway setups — but the previous law restricting roadway seating to a specific period was a costly hurdle that hurt restaurants’ participation,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “We look forward to developing new rules to allow for restaurants to winterize their roadway dining setups in a way that creates a comfortable dining experience while still maintaining the light and airy setups we see on our streets today.”

“Small businesses deserve a city government that treats them as partners, not one that leaves them navigating a maze of regulations,” said Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Kenny Minaya. “SBS is proud to have championed these reforms as part of Mayor Mamdani’s Open for Small Business initiative, and we are grateful to Small Business Committee Chair Thomas-Henry and Council Member Restler for their leadership in expanding the outdoor dining program. Intro. 0655 activates our public realm, ensures vibrancy on our streets and strengthens small businesses’ ability to serve their neighborhoods and build community.”

Mayor Mamdani Announces Sweeping New Measures to Strengthen New York City’s Response to Legionnaires’ Disease  

Mayor Mamdani Completes Redesign of ‘Crashland’ in Downtown Brooklyn  

City transforms Ashland Place into a one-way street with a two-way protected bike lane, creating a 5.5-mile protected biking corridor from Sunset Park to DUMBO

NEW YORK – Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn today announced the completion of a continuous protected bike lane on Ashland Place in Downtown Brooklyn, filling the final gap in a 5.5-mile protected bike corridor between Sunset Park and DUMBO.

NYC DOT first began the Ashland Place redesign in 2022, but after interference from the previous administration, work stopped before the final block of protected bike lane could be installed. For three years, the project sat unfinished, with bags covering new traffic signals intended to improve safety at the intersection.

Today, as the long-awaited redesign takes effect, the City removed those bags and completed the project.

“For years, ‘Crashland’ has been a symbol of broken promises and safety put on the back burner. Today, we finish the job,” said Mayor Mamdani. “The Ashland Place redesign connects New Yorkers to a protected bike network, shortens crossing distances for pedestrians and calms traffic for everyone moving through the area. Our job as government first and foremost is to build a city that keeps New Yorkers safe and works for the people who live here. This is what that looks like.”

“Completing the Ashland Place redesign is not just the completion of one city block, but a critical link that will safely connect cyclists from across Brooklyn to Manhattan, North Brooklyn and Western Queens,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “We’re proud to unbag the traffic signals on Ashland Place and officially make ‘Crashland’ a distant memory as we work alongside community members across the five boroughs to advance the next generation of street safety redesigns.”

“At long last, the day has finally come: Crashland is no more,” said State Senator Andrew Gounardes. “So many neighbors and advocates worked for years to arrive at this moment. The completion of this project finally closes a critical gap in Brooklyn’s bike network and makes the street safer and easier to navigate for everyone. This new design will help save lives, and it’s proof that, with hard work, we can create streets that truly serve all New Yorkers. Thank you to Mayor Mamdani and NYC DOT for their work to finish this much-needed project.”

“Crashland no more! Credit to Mayor Mamdani and the Department of Transportation for completing the long-awaited and much-needed Ashland Place protected bike lane. The new lane is a major safety improvement and helps connect riders to a network of protected lanes from Sunset Park to Greenpoint,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler. “I look forward to DOT’s planned bike lane redesign projects on blocks surrounding Ashland Place, including 4th Ave and Lafayette Ave, that are critical connectors to the network of protected lanes.”

“Livable streets happen when we redesign them to prioritize people,” said Jackson Chabot, Director of Advocacy and Organizing at Open Plans. “The area around Atlantic Terminal and Barclays Center is one of the best-connected places in New York, yet its streets have long devoted too much space to moving and storing cars. The Ashland Place redesign is an important step toward changing that, with safer crossings and protected bike lanes. We also need to bring that same mindset to the curb, rethinking how we use some of our most valuable public space so it serves pedestrians, transit riders, cyclists, deliveries and local businesses — not just private vehicles. We applaud Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Flynn for completing this critical project and look forward to seeing more low-traffic, slow-speed design approaches brought to more neighborhoods across the city.”

“We applaud the completion of the redesign of Ashland Place to implement the protected two-way bike lane that had been sidelined by the foregoing administration. This previously missing link completes a more than five-mile protected cycling route connecting Sunset Park to the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, making biking appreciably safer for thousands of people every day,” said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC. “We’re grateful to Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Flynn for their continuing efforts to prioritize street safety.”

“Today’s completion of Ashland Place’s redesign marks an important investment in the safety and accessibility of a key Downtown Brooklyn corridor used by thousands of New Yorkers every day,” said Kate Slevin, Executive Vice President at Regional Plan Association. “By strengthening Brooklyn’s protected bike network and reducing risks for pedestrians and cyclists, this project demonstrates how thoughtful street redesign can create more intuitive transportation connections that better serve everyone who uses our streets. RPA applauds NYC DOT for delivering on improvements that will make this critical connection safer and easier to navigate.”

NEW YORK – Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels today announced a moratorium on student-facing generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in schools, alongside a new screen time policy, a decision that will impact nearly 600,000 public school students, or two-thirds of the system’s total enrollment. The policy establishes a one-year moratorium, effective in the 2026-2027 school year, on student-facing generative AI for children in 2-K through 8th grade. It also introduces twice-yearly AI critical thinking modules for high schoolers, limited AI pilots for a small number of high school classrooms and age-appropriate screen time restrictions.  

“Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow. They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own,” said Mayor Mamdani. “The tech industry wants us to believe that A.I.-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary. We do not see it that way. That’s why we’re implementing a moratorium on generative AI for students in 2-K through 8th grade and spending the next year studying the impacts of this technology.”

“We have a responsibility to ensure that rapidly-changing technology supports our children and their learning, rather than getting in the way of it,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “New York State has been leading the way in our efforts to keep kids focused on learning and growing — not clicking and scrolling — and I commend Mayor Mamdani for building on this work and pushing our shared commitment to supporting New York’s kids forward.”    

“As Chancellor and as a parent, I believe our job is to protect what makes learning work, while ensuring every child has the critical thinking skills they need before graduating,” said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “We’re putting guardrails in place to protect the human connection, curiosity and creativity that help children grow. We’re standing firmly in our belief that innovation does not mean more technology, and over the next year, we will lead with evidence to make sure technology serves learning — not the other way around.”   

Representing the most expansive student-facing AI moratorium in the nation, the new policy eliminates AI use for students in grades 2-K through 8th grade. This includes all software that uses student-facing generative AI. Companion chatbots will be prohibited across all grades.   

Throughout the 2026-27 school year, a new Technology in Schools Coalition, made up of students, educators, parent leaders, elected officials, advocates, union partners and experts in the field will convene to assess the impact of the moratorium and limited pilots. The coalition will publish a report with recommendations for future school years.    

For a maximum of 50,000 high school students in general education classes, or approximately 5% of the public-school student body, five limited AI pilots will be introduced. All high school students will also have access to twice-yearly AI literacy classes designed to help them think critically about AI before they begin to rely on it.   

The two 45-minute modules will introduce students to what AI is and is not, as well as AI-related bias, risks, ethical considerations and impacts on careers and future skills.   

The limited pilots will be offered at a maximum of five classes per high school. All use will take place under the direct supervision of a trained educator and will involve carefully vetted AI tools. The pilots were selected based on rigorous safety and data privacy standards, their focus on teacher-guided instruction and their commitment to keeping students as the primary thinker in the classroom.   

Pilot programs include:  

• Quill: Accessed by English language arts classrooms, Quill is designed to support close reading, text analysis and the use of evidence to support claims. Students will use Quill for no more than 15 minutes per week.   

• Edia: Accessed by math classrooms, Edia is designed to provide step-by-step coaching and prompt students to explain their reasoning. Students will use Edia for no more than 20 minutes per week.  

• Brisk Teaching: Accessed through teacher-created activities, Brisk Teaching is designed to provide guided practice using teacher-selected texts or videos, with objectives and guardrails set by the teacher. Students will use Brisk Boost for 10 to 20 minutes once or twice per week.  

• Playlab: To be used across multiple subjects, Playlab is designed to help students engage with assignment-specific applications and examine AI outputs for bias and reasoning. No more than two assignments per marking period will use Playlab.  

• Intel AI-Ready Schools: To be used across multiple subjects, Intel AI-Ready Schools is designed to help students identify community problems and develop AI solutions through semester-long projects. Students will use the tool for one period per week.  

Teachers will continue to be permitted to use AI for instructional planning and operational tasks, provided all tools comply with NYCPS safety standards. Exceptions to the policy will be granted for assistive technology usage by students with disabilities, multilingual learners and students participating in career readiness programs, like computer science.   

With this new policy, students in 2nd grade and below will see restricted 1:1 screen time, with recommended caps of 30 minutes a day for students in 3rd grade through 5th grade and 45 minutes for students in 6th grade through 8th grade.   

Under the new policy, all technology tools used in NYCPS will undergo an exhaustive review and will be barred if their functionality is ultimately determined not to be mission-critical to learning. The review will include vendor accountability for safety and transparency standards, ethics, evidence of learning design and instructional impact, prior research and the continuous collection of user feedback.  

“Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Chancellor Kamar Samuels are taking a thoughtful and responsible approach to AI in our schools. Early-grade education must be rooted in building foundational skills through evidence-based practices, not experimenting on children with rapidly evolving technology. As Chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology, I introduced similar legislation, and I’m proud to serve on the advisory panel that will help New York City determine where AI can genuinely improve education while protecting students and preserving appropriate exceptions for children with disabilities,” said Assemblymember Robert Carroll, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology.  

“The AI policy set forth today protects the city’s youngest learners and prepares high school students to tackle the changing landscape they will graduate into. This policy is appropriately careful and responsive to community voices. I look forward to working closely with the Technology in Schools Coalition to further develop this policy and ensure accountability. As the coming wave of technology emerges, young people will be on the forefront — it will be their creativity, and ingenuity will lead the way. Our responsibility is to establish guardrails, such as these, to help them do it responsibly. This is a good step in that direction,” said Councilwoman Rita Joseph, Higher Education Chair.  

“As a former middle school teacher, I’m so pleased to see that our Mayor is taking a nuanced approach to a new and rapidly changing educational tool. We took too long to respond to the effects of social media and smart phones on our youth. This combination of a 1-year ban with select pilot programs allows us to take a serious look at AI usage in schools and find a path that allows our students to adapt to our changing world in a safe manner,” said State Senator Jabari Brisport.  

“This one-year ban on student-facing artificial intelligence technology use and restrictions on screen time through eighth grade are the right policies for optimal student learning and development,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler. “Credit to Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels for listening to students, parents, teachers and administrators and protecting our young people from the potentially harmful effects of untested technology. This pause alongside a commitment to meaningfully engage stakeholders in the months ahead will allow us to craft long term policies amid a rapidly changing technology landscape.”  

“We should never confuse a machine’s ability to produce an answer with a child’s ability to arrive at one. There is something sacred in the struggle to understand: the question asked twice, the page wrestled with, the mistake that becomes discovery, the teacher who sees possibility before a student sees it in themselves,” said State Senator Robert Jackson. “That is where intellect is formed and independence begins. In a democracy, we educate children not simply to know things, but to question, discern, imagine, and ultimately think for themselves. I commend Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels for recognizing that progress must earn its place in the classroom. Technology will continue to change, but our obligation must remain constant: childhood must never be the price we pay for innovation.”

“Tech companies have forced their way into every corner of kids’ lives with big promises of benefits but little evidence to back them up. Enough is enough,” said State Senator Andrew Gounardes. “These new rules are an important step toward ensuring our kids’ needs come before Big Tech’s profits. By putting smart, thoughtful guardrails around the use of tech in schools, we can ensure learning comes first. Thanks to Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels for working to give our children the education they need and deserve.”   

“AI is changing how we learn and work, and our kids need to be prepared to use it safely, think critically, and interrogate the information it produces,” said Council Member Gale A. Brewer. “I am encouraged that NYC Public Schools is taking a comprehensive approach, with age-appropriate AI literacy in K–8 and more focused instruction in high school, and I look forward to the program being shared with parents and staff. Thank you to Chancellor Kamar Samuels and Mayor Mamdani for preparing our students for a rapidly changing world.”

“The recent METR OpenAI report demonstrated how easily AI models can run amok, literally learning how to lie and cheat while covering their tracks to evade being caught deviating from their original code. Our ability to use generative AI with confidence that it won’t turn on our kids and do something else is tenuous at best. The policies announced today are well thought out, age-appropriate, and comprehensive — allowing for carefully chosen pilots for high schoolers and for those AI tools that provide access for students with disabilities and English language learners. Thank you, Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels, for pumping the brakes and creating this detailed policy,” said Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon.

“As a 14-year public school special education teacher and Chair of the City Council’s Education Committee, I’ve seen how quickly new technology can outpace a school system’s ability to manage it responsibly,” said Council Member Eric Dinowitz. “My committee’s recent oversight hearing made clear the DOE needs a deliberate, evidence-based approach before AI tools reach classrooms unchecked. I applaud Chancellor Samuels’ work on this policy and look forward to continuing our work together to ensure our students are kept safe and that technologies support and enhance learning.”  

“AI and technology are central to New York’s economic future, as underscored by last week’s CBRE report showing that New York City now has more tech jobs than the Bay Area. We’re encouraged that high schoolers will have access to AI career readiness tools that can help prepare them for the workforce, and we recommend expanding this access beyond one hour per week in the future. At the same time, strong guardrails should enable age-appropriate learning that puts safety first, even at younger grades. Preparing youth for adult life and workplaces that rely on technology will require students to understand AI, question it, and use it safely, under the guidance of teachers. These are incredibly complex issues, and we give Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels credit for listening to all sides and creating a task force, which I am proud to serve on, to help shape what comes next,” said Tech:NYC President & CEO Julie Samuels.  

Banner Image:  Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani delivers remarks at the Floral Park Indian Day Parade on Saturday, August 15, 2026. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office