NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, September 29, 2005: Despite opposition from the Bloomberg (Mayor of New York City) administration, a City Council committee recently voted unanimously to approve legislation adding Diwali to the list of holidays while the full council will vote later on whether to suspend the parking rules for street cleaning for the popular Hindu holiday. (HPI adds: A word of explanation is needed here. When the streets are cleaned, parking is banned on one whole side of many streets so the large street sweeping machines can run unimpeded. The result is general chaos for businesses and any events as on-street parking is reduced by half in the area. So the street cleaning is suspended during major holidays.)
Bernard Sullivan, chief of cleaning at the Sanitation Department, said that there are already 39 days when they can’t sweep the curbs. Adding to it would “greatly impact community cleanliness,” he said. Councilman John Liu, chairman of the committee, said that there’s a very substantial portion of New Yorkers who hold the holiday in high reverence. Some Hindus and community leaders say that Diwali, one of India’s major religious holidays, which is observed by Hindus around the world, deserves the honor. Thousands of Hindus in the city, most of whom emigrated from India, Guyana or Trinidad, observe the holiday, which goes back thousands of years. The holiday, also called the Festival of Lights, originates from a historical religious story symbolic of the triumph of good over evil.