NEW YORK, NY, June 3, 2026–On Monday, June 8, New York City Council will hold its Education Budget Hearing at 12:00 pm and City’s First Readers (CFR), a group of 17 organizations funded by the New York City Council that offers free, fun learning activities for every New York City family with children from birth to age 5, is taking a stand! CFR Partner organizations, staff, educators, advocates, partners, and families will join forces on the steps of City Hall at 10:30 am to rally for early literacy across New York City.  

CFR partners range from doctors’ offices to libraries to community organizations to social service agencies, and each partner provides specific types of early education programming. Programs include fun play time activities, free books and toys, and workshops that equip parents and caregivers with skills, knowledge and the confidence to practice at home so that their children will enter the classroom loving books and eager to read. 

The rally will begin with a community read aloud, and all attendees will receive free lunch. Look for the yellow signs and CFR logo on the steps of City Hall this Monday because Early Literacy Matters, and all New York City children deserve to be seen, heard, and invested in.

Teaching people to read and building a world where they can do so are different problems. Throwing our phones in the lake can’t bring about that world, but designing the conditions for reading will…Build on the models that already work: reading in laundromats, libraries in transit systems, books in barbershops, classrooms, homes and pediatric offices. Excerpt from Make America Read Again by Brian Bannon, Chief Librarian of the New York Public Library.

“Teaching a child to read is important; building a city where reading can thrive is transformational. By working together across neighborhoods, institutions, and communities, we create the conditions that help every child become a reader and every family feel supported.” Emmanuel Novy, Chief of Strategic Initiatives, Literacy in Community (LINC)

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. 

Reporters wishing to cover the rally, please contact Virginia Taddoni, Associate Director of Communications at vtaddoni@lincnyc.org, 212-620-5462, ext 133.

Anyone wishing to participate in the rally, please contact Emmanuel Novy, Chief of Strategic Initiatives at enovy@lincnyc.org, 817-360-7075.