City’s First Readers Celebrates City Council Leadership and a Shared Commitment to Early Literacy Across New York City

New York, NY — City’s First Readers (CFR), the New York City Council’s only early literacy initiative, applauds Speaker Julie Menin and City Council leadership for elevating early childhood education through new committee and subcommittee appointments.

“I am so pleased to see Speaker Menin recognize the importance of a child’s earliest years by establishing a Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education within the Committee on Education,” said Emmanuel Novy, Chief of Strategic Initiatives at Literacy in Community (LINC) and facilitating partner for City’s First Readers. “If we are serious about improving literacy outcomes, we must start early. We are excited to continue working with Jenifer Gutiérrez, Chair of the new subcommittee, and Eric Dinowitz, Chair of the Committee on Education. Both have been longstanding champions of City’s First Readers and early literacy across New York City.”

Founded in 2014 as a community complement to the rollout of Universal Pre-K, City’s First Readers has grown into a coalition of 17 partner organizations representing a significant portion of New York City’s early literacy ecosystem. CFR partners collaborate across neighborhoods and systems—coordinating programs, cross-promoting services, convening regularly, and advancing shared strategies to support families and young children.

Over the years, City’s First Readers has also served as a forum for collective problem-solving, responding to evolving challenges such as migrant family surges and threats to the safety and well-being of children and caregivers. This collaborative, adaptive approach makes CFR unique among City Council initiatives.

“City’s First Readers truly demonstrates that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” said Shari Levine, Executive Director at Literacy in Community and backbone partner for CFR. “The energy, trust, and mutual support among partners is extraordinary. CFR organizations operate in every City Council district, and we are eager to work with the full Council to strengthen early literacy citywide.”

On behalf of all City’s First Readers partners, the coalition extends its congratulations to City Council leadership and looks forward to working together to ensure early literacy support becomes a signature achievement of this Council term.

About City’s First Readers (CFR): Established by the New York City Council in 2014, City’s First Readers is an initiative in collaboration with 17 nonprofit organizations and coordinated by Literacy in Community (LINC), fostering the literacy development of children birth through five. The initiative was started to address the literacy crisis in New York City by building a coalition with the capacity to build an equitable city where children start school ready to read. To learn more about CFR, please visit www.citysfirstreaders.com. 

To learn more about CFR, please visit www.citysfirstreaders.com or contact Emmanuel Novy, Chief of Strategic Initiatives at enovy@lincnyc.org, 817-360-7075.