Literacy in Community Applauds City Council Leadership and Calls for Bold Early Literacy Action

New York, NY — As Speaker Julie Menin announces her appointments to City Council leadership teams and committees, Literacy in Community (LINC) extends its congratulations to Council Members serving neighborhoods where LINC provides early literacy programs in partnership with families and community organizations.

LINC looks forward to continuing its collaboration with Eric Dinowitz, Chair of the Committee on Education, and welcomes the creation of a Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education, to be chaired by Jenifer Gutiérrez. LINC also congratulates Shaun Abreu, Kamala Hanks, Elsie Encarnacion, and Chris Banks, whose constituents are eager and active participants in LINC’s early literacy programs across the city.

This Council leadership team takes office at a crucial moment for our city, state, and nation. While families are navigating unprecedented challenges, New York also has a powerful opportunity to turn obstacles into progress—by advancing equity, strengthening our social infrastructure, and investing in the earliest years of life.

New York City and New York State are uniquely positioned to lead by aligning priorities around universal childcare. Beyond expanding access, affordability, and pay parity, universal childcare offers an unprecedented opportunity to embed early literacy directly into the systems that serve children and families every day.

Shari Levine, Executive Director of Literacy in Community, emphasized the importance of building on what already exists to maximize impact. “With 90 percent of a child’s brain developing by age five, meaningful investment in early literacy during the first five years delivers the highest return at the lowest cost,” Levine said. “By prioritizing prevention over remediation, New York can strengthen outcomes while reducing downstream public costs. We can embed universal early literacy within universal childcare, leverage our robust pediatric public health system to support families, and expand the Council’s commitment to its unique early literacy initiative, City’s First Readers.”

Albania Jimenez, LINC’s Chief Advocacy Officer, reflected on the promise of this moment. “This moment offers so much possibility. LINC programs help parents understand how what they do at home complements what children experience in daycare and, eventually, in classrooms. I look forward to working with Council Members to empower families and advance early literacy across New York City.”

Eliana Godoy, Deputy Executive Director of LINC, shared her personal experience navigating childcare while attending graduate school in New York City. “I know firsthand how fundamental it is for parents to have childcare that is not only safe, but nurturing. We must seize this opportunity to ensure our youngest New Yorkers receive the stimulation that supports healthy brain development and lays the foundation for lifelong learning.”

LINC urges policymakers and City Council leadership to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—to ensure universal childcare is designed not only as a workforce support, but as a comprehensive child development system, with early literacy built in from day one.

For more information, please contact communications@lincnyc.org or visit us at www.lincnyc.org.