Assemblyman William Colton (D – Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) is pleased that the Community Education Council for District 20 at their monthly calendar meeting on February 8^th, 2023 had approved a resolution supporting State Assembly bill A01275 which he introduced, to name the Lunar New Year as a state holiday.

“I have introduced bill A01275, which was sponsored by Assemblywoman Grace Lee, to declare Asian Lunar New Year a public holiday in New York State. There are about 44% of students in the CEC 20 district are Asians. The population of the State of New York is approximately 9.3% Asian.This holiday is one of the most important traditional holidays amongst the Asian community and is widely celebrated in the U.S.,” Colton stated.

“People who are celebrating Asian Lunar New Year should not feel that they are pushed to make the decision either to send their children to school or to celebrate with family and friends. The families who celebrate the Asian Lunar New Year should not be faced with making such a decision,” Colton continued.

“There are several State holidays in the State of New York as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Columbus Day, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, etc. They all celebrate culture or history and Asian Lunar New Year is similarly important. The public holiday such as Lunar New Year will promote and increase awareness of Asian history and tradition not just in our community but nationwide,” Colton added.