Diwali [a festival of lamp lighting that signifies India’s age-old culture to vanquish ignorance that subdues humanity and drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge] became the first Hindu festival to enter a New York City list of holidays, when the administration decided to suspend alternate side parking on streets in all five boroughs on the festival day starting this year.
The law conferring the recognition on the Hindu festival of lights came into effect December 8 after the New York City Council overrode a veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Thus on October 21, 2006, alternate side parking will be suspended in New York for Diwali, according to the holiday listing on the New York City Department of Transportation’s Web site. What it means that people throughout the city will not have to remove their vehicles from the streets that are otherwise scheduled for cleaning.
“It was a great pleasure just to see our Diwali named there,” said Rajiv Gowda, a member of the NYC Community Education Council from District 31, who is one of the advocates for recognition to the festival.
The city suspends alternate side parking regulations for cleaning and traffic flow on 39 holidays that include Christmas, Hanukkah and Eid. These holidays, some of which fall on the same calendar day, have been in place for several decades.
Udai Tambar, director of the Indian American Center for Political Awareness’ (IACPA) Local Leadership Development Program, said the inclusion of Diwali would create awareness about the South Asian community.
“When Diwali comes up, National Public Radio (NPR), or NY1 is going to say, ‘Today, alternate side of the street parking is suspended due to Diwali,’” Tambar said. “Non-South Asians are going to say, ‘OK, what’s Diwali?’ It’s very exciting that the community has reached a critical mass and has the political will to make something like this happen.”
However, the law did not come through without any glitches. Although the New York City Council initially approved the legislation (45-0) on September 28, it was vetoed by Bloomberg on the grounds that it would mean one more day of not cleaning the streets.
Council Member John Liu (D-Flushing), who backed the bill, had then said he would make sure the veto was overridden when it came back to the council. Only a two-thirds majority (35 members) was required to override the veto, but on December 8 it was passed 54-2.
The demand for recognition to Diwali was first raised by the Jackson Heights Merchants’ Association (JHMA) in 2003. In an earlier interview with India Abroad, JHMA president Shiv Dass said they had approached Sayu Bhojwani, then the Mayor’s commissioner of immigrant affairs.
In August 2004, Council Member Gale Brewer (D-Upper Westside Manhattan) introduced the legislation in the NYC Council; both Tambar and Gowda said an intern in Brewer’s office, Kayyani Thambi, was instrumental in putting the community’s views across.
In the days that followed, several members of the Indian-American community campaigned for the cause.
Among those who testified in support of the legislation before the Council’s transportation committee (headed by Liu) were a priest from the local ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) – an international religious association; the Jackson Heights Merchants’ Association (JHMA); and the Indian American Center for Political Awareness’s (IACPA).
After the Council passed the bill in September, Liu told India Abroad [that] the legislation recognizes Diwali to be an important holiday in New York City.
