de Blasio and Mark-Viverito push for Lunar New Year school holiday

BY HELEN KLEIN AND HEATHER J. CHIN

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has renewed a call to make the start of the Lunar New Year a school holiday.

At a Queens press conference held on Friday, January 24, Mark-Viverito was joined by colleagues in government to push for the addition to the schools calendar, noting “Students shouldn’t feel like they have to choose between celebrating their heritage and missing a day of school.”

Approximately 14 percent of the city’s public school students are Asian-American.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has also expressed support for the move, which elected officials have advocated for in recent years.

Brooklyn and Manhattan State Senator Daniel Squadron added his support for the move on January 30, co-sponsoring a bill on the state level (A.7756/S.5862) that would allow NYC schools to close on Lunar New Year.

“New York is endlessly diverse and ever-changing — it’s time for our school calendar to better reflect that,” said Squadron.

Also under consideration by the City Council to be added to the school holiday list are two Muslim holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.