What does $400 million buy in New York City? Not much, according to a new report that said a fund to renovate schools turned into a money pit with virtually no results.
The report in the New York Post that called the buildings “ghost” preschools, said it’s not fully clear how much was spent to accomplish so little, because officials in the administration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are sitting on those numbers.
In the eyes of planners, $400 million would fix up 27 sites that would house pre-K, targeting 4-year-olds, and 3-K, targeting 3-year-olds.
The glittering and costly project was going to deliver results as early as August 2020, when former Mayor Bill de Blasio was on the scene, through last August, under Mayor Eric Adams.
The Post report said that a center in College Point, Queens, began with a $28 million price tag. About $16 million has been spent to date, but the building has not yet opened.
“Community organizers there said parents repeatedly asked the city for updates on the planned early childhood education center,” the Post reported.
NYC earmarked $400M for dozens of preschools that were never opened: records https://t.co/rS9ulFluQY pic.twitter.com/PsbOOhkSWc
— New York Post (@nypost) March 5, 2026
“There was much interest and frequent requests for more information by local families who thought of it as an easily accessible site,” a representative of the group A Better College Point Civic Association said.
“As you know, it currently remains closed and empty — even though we could use the seats,” the representative said.
A Ridgewood, Queens, project that ate up $13.4 million but never opened is now being run by a group called Success Academy Charter Schools.
The Post reported that parents were told by the Adams administration last summer that there were no plans to open any of the buildings.
It noted that one renovated building was opened by Mamdani.
“We’re working to create plans for all of those,” NYC Public Schools’ Deputy Chancellor for Early Childhood Education Simone Hawkins said Monday.
However, a representative of the city’s Department of Education seemed less positive.
“Some sites were commissioned for development by prior administrations without corresponding funding allocated for services, decisions we are not in position to speak to,” the representative said.
The representative said locations are “often still under active development,” waiting on permits or other “operational requirements.”
“Plans will be shared publicly once timelines and approvals are confirmed,” the representative said.
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