NYC kindergarten application process now open Updated Dec 15, 2020; Posted Dec 15, 2020 To apply for kindergarten, your child must be a current New York City resident who was born in 2016. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Third-Party-Submitted Facebook Share STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The New York City kindergarten application process for the 2021-2022 school year is now open. To apply for kindergarten, your child must be a current New York City resident who was born in 2016. In New York City, children enter kindergarten in the fall of the calendar year they turn 5 years old, and they are guaranteed a seat at a public school. Once your child starts kindergarten, he or she can remain at the same school until its final elementary grade.