Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned on a platform of affordability for all aspects of New York City life, including child care. To that end, he has added for than 1,000 seats for three-year-olds in the city's existing 3-K program; and in March 2026, he and Governor Hochul announced that four communities - Washington Heights and Inwood in Manhattan; Canarsie, Brownsville, and Ocean Hill in Brooklyn; Ozone Park and the Rockaways in Queens; and Fordham and Kingsbridge in the Bronx - would receive 2,000 2-K seats starting this fall. The programs will run from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., 260 days a year, to better align with typical work hours and school calendars.
The new developments are part of Mayor Mamdani's push for universal care for every child, regardless of income, starting at six weeks old. While many factors go into the decision to have children, Gothamist spoke to several New Yorkers who were more optimistic about the idea if the proposed policies were adopted.
In this article:
Of course, even if people can afford to have children or grow their families, the question remains of where to live. It is not uncommon for growing families to decamp to the suburbs in search of more square footage and outdoor space, but maisonette apartments may work for some city families. Taken from the French for "little house," mainsonettes are found on the lower levels of multi-family buildings and can be accessed directly from the street and sometimes also from the building's main entrance. This type of home tends to offer more square footage, leading to a more flexible floor plan compared to the units above, and sometimes includes private outdoor space. Owners also save time by not having to shuttle up and down elevators or flights of stairs to reach their units.
It is important to note that maisonettes are not all created equal. Even in the most thoughtfully designed new buildings, the ground-floor homes often have less light and more traffic noise. Some people may resent having everyone else in the building walk by their front door. In low-lying areas, ground-floor apartments are at greatest risk of flooding and water damage.
Another option for especially affluent families is a class of townhouses that are built as part of new construction condo developments. These are designed to resemble single-family rowhouses on the outside and have private entrances that allow owners to bypass shared spaces like lobbies and elevators. However, owners still have access to all the building's amenities and services in an atmosphere that some see as the best of both worlds.
Earlier this year, actor Will Arnett returned to Morton Square, the West Village condominium where he and ex-wife, actress Amy Poehler, lived before their two sons were born. But rather than buy another apartment, he bought a townhouse unit with more space for the children and a large private terrace.
More recently, the two townhouse units at Upper West Side luxury condominium The Henry entered contract within weeks of each other. Both two-story units have private entrances and gardens, ground-floor entertaining areas, bedrooms on the upper levels, and access to The Henry's amenities and services, including but not limited to a fitness center, an indoor pickleball court, a bowling alley, a screening room, a playroom, and a roof terrace with outdoor kitchen and bocce court.
The Henry, #THE
$17,000,000
Broadway Corridor | Condominium | 6+ Bedrooms, 6+ Baths | 7,733 ft2
Contract Signed
The Henry, #THE (Compass)
The recently listed homes below offer what maisonette enthusiasts dream of: great addresses, gracious layouts, charm to spare, and usually, private outdoor space. Be aware that some of the units marketing themselves as maisonettes are merely first-floor apartments, or garden apartments without a private entrance to the street. Nevertheless, take a look below to snag one of these unique NYC homes.
410 East 57th Street, #1A
$600,000 (-31.4%)
Beekman/Sutton Place | Cooperative | 2 Bedrooms, Unknown Baths | 826 ft2
410 East 57th Street, #1A (Sothebys International Realty)
176 West 87th Street, #MD (Compass)
Worldwide Plaza, #THF (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
1019 Hancock Street, #TWNHSE (Serhant)
NINE52, #TH205 (Compass)
1400 on Fifth, #THC2 (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
The Eldorado, #1JA (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
Eagle Warehouse & Storage Company, #THE
$1,799,000 (-16.3%)
Brooklyn Heights | Cooperative | 2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths | 2,100 ft2
Eagle Warehouse & Storage Company, #THE (Palette)
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
451 West 22nd Street, #TH (Corcoran Group)
57 3rd Street, #3 (Compass)
The Austin, #TH4 (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
650 East 6th Street, #TH (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
88 & 90 Lex, #TOWNHOUSE C
$2,495,000
Flatiron/Union Square | Condominium | 3 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths | 2,262 ft2
88 & 90 Lex, #TOWNHOUSE C (Compass)
524 Halsey Street, #TH1
$2,695,000
Bedford-Stuyvesant | Condominium | 3 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths | 3,303 ft2
524 Halsey Street, #TH1 (Compass)
Bergen Brooklyn, #TH115E (Compass)
One Beekman, #AB (Corcoran Group)
Oosten, #TH8 (Serhant)
Kibo Residences, #THA (YC CAPITAL GROUP LLC)
120 Gramercy Hill, #TH1
$3,250,000
Flatiron/Union Square | Condominium | 2 Bedrooms, 3 Baths | 2,211 ft2
120 Gramercy Hill, #TH1 (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
The Edge North Tower, #TH3 (Massada Home Sales Inc)
The Legacy, #THA (Compass)
450 Washington Street, #TH5 (Serhant)
720 West End Avenue, #TH2J
$5,850,000
Riverside Dr./West End Ave. | Condominium | 3 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths | 2,722 ft2
720 West End Avenue, #TH2J (Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group)
Philip House, #Maisonette
$6,195,000 (-4.7%)
Carnegie Hill | Condominium | 4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths | 3,253 ft2
Philip House, #M1 (Sothebys International Realty)
Linea, #THB (Corcoran Group)
The Prasada, #MAISONETTE DUPLEX
$13,900,000
Central Park West | Cooperative | 5 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths | 5,935 ft2
The Prasada, #MAISONETTE DUPLEX (Sothebys International Realty)
67 Vestry Street, #TH (Corcoran Group)
775 Park Avenue, #MASIONC
$18,500,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Cooperative | 5 Bedrooms, 5.5 Baths
775 Park Avenue, #MASIONC (Christies International Real Estate Group LLC)
998 Fifth Avenue, #1W (Sothebys International Realty)
601 Washington Street, #THE
$19,950,000
West Village | Condominium | 4 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths | 5,838 ft2
601 Washington Street, #THE (Compass)
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
6sqft delivers the latest on real estate, architecture, and design, straight from New York City.
