New York City Council Passes Resolution Recognizing Lunar New Year as Statutory Public Holiday

　　China News Agency, New York, February 3rd. The New York City Council held a plenary meeting on the 2nd local time and voted to pass a number of bills and resolutions. One of the resolutions confirmed the Chinese New Year as a statutory public holiday for the city and its public schools. .

　　On the same day, the resolution No. 0331 proposed by City Councilor Christopher Marte (Christopher Marte) in September 2022 was unanimously passed in the New York City Council vote.

In the resolution, Ma Tai called on New York City to make the Lunar New Year a statutory public holiday, that is, the city's government employees and public school teachers should enjoy a one-day holiday every Lunar New Year.

　　In fact, former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio designated the Chinese New Year as a public school holiday in 2015.

However, this year's Lunar New Year falls on a Sunday, and the New York City Department of Education did not follow the federal holiday rules to postpone the holiday and designate a compensatory Monday, which caused strong dissatisfaction among the Chinese community in the city.

The passage of this resolution confirmed the status of the Chinese New Year as a statutory public holiday in New York City.

　　However, the New York City Department of Education declined to comment.

Previously, the New York City Department of Education stated that since the Chinese New Year is not a federal holiday, when the Chinese New Year falls on a weekend, the Education Bureau has the right to decide whether to postpone the holiday.

Considering that New York public schools have to fulfill their commitment of 180 school days per year, no compensatory rest for the Lunar New Year is given this year.

　　On the 2nd, the New York City Council also voted to pass a resolution No. 0424 proposed by City Councilor Huang Minyi in December 2022. Holiday bills.

Meng Zhaowen re-introduced the Chinese New Year Bill HR430 in the House of Representatives on January 20 this year. The content includes designating the Chinese New Year as the 12th federal holiday in the United States, recognizing the cultural and historical significance of the Chinese New Year, etc.

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