The unexpected decision to preserve the “obscure” Brooklyn-Queens Day on the city’s public schools holiday calendar – while also adding Diwali – has created a scheduling conundrum that top officials previously said had to be avoided.
In October, Mayor Eric Adams, Schools Chancellor David Banks and Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar announced legislation to add Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, to the calendar while nixing Brooklyn-Queens Day – also known as Anniversary Day – which commemorates the founding of the first Sunday school in Long Island in 1829.
Rajkumar and Banks explained that the school system is required by law to provide a minimum of 180 days of instruction and there simply wasn’t room on the calendar for both holidays.
“If we’re going to meet this 180 day minimum requirement, we cannot institute any more holidays. But in removing the antiquated Anniversary Day school holiday that is observed by no one, my legislation makes the room for Diwali to be a school holiday while also meeting the 180 day minimum requirement for days of school instruction,” Rajkumar said.
But earlier this month, lawmakers appeared to punt on the 180 day issue, with the Assembly and state Senate passing a bill to add Diwali to the city schools calendar – and maintaining Brooklyn-Queens Day, which is on the second Thursday in June. Diwali falls in October or November based on the lunar calendar.
In an interview with Gothamist this week, Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman said she and fellow Brooklynite Assemblymember Latrice Walker led the behind-the-scenes push to preserve the holiday. Both have marched in traditional Brooklyn-Queens Day parades.
“Well, I love it,” said Zinerman, who represents Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. “I grew up in the tradition. Anniversary Day was a celebration of what Sunday schools meant to the Christian community. Sunday schools, especially for African-American people are very important because that’s where we learned…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply