Mayor Bill de Blasio designated the Lunar New Year an official public school holiday in New York City, fulfilling a campaign promise made to Asian voters. The move makes New York the second major urban school district to recognize the Lunar New Year on the school calendar. Supporters say recognizing the holiday tells hundreds of thousands of Asian Americans that their culture is part of the American fabric and helps combat feelings of isolation in the Asian-American community.

1. New York mayor designates Lunar New Year a public school
holiday | Reuters
Mayor Bill de Blasio designated the Lunar New Year an official public school holiday in New York
City on Tuesday, following through on a campaign pledge to Asian voters.
The move came after de Blasio in March declared school holidays on the most-observed holidays in
Islam, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
De Blasio, making good on a promise made during his 2013 mayoral campaign, said students will
also have a day off on the Lunar New Year, an Asian holiday that next takes place on Feb. 8, 2016.
"We pledged to families we would keep working until we made Lunar New Year an official school
holiday, and today we are keeping that promise," de Blasio said.
The city's Department of Education had been working on the logistics of adding another holiday
while maintaining the legally mandated 180 days of instruction. The problem was solved by merging
two half days that previously did not count toward the total into a single full day that can be tallied.
After San Francisco, New York is the second major urban school district to add the Lunar New Year
to the official school calendar.
"This holiday is not about kids just getting a day off from school," said Assemblyman Ron Kim of the
New York City borough of Queens, who sponsored the bill.
"It's about the City of New York telling hundreds of thousands of Asian Americans that their culture
and heritage is part of the American fabric," he said.
Kim said recognizing the holiday is one way of pushing back against feelings of isolation and
marginalization felt by the Asian-American community.
"The next wave of youth and children can grow up recognizing that Asian culture is part of the
mainstream American culture," he said.
(Reporting by Katie Reilly; Editing by Alan Crosby)