By Alex Robinson
A small army of costumed dancers, musicians and entertainers marched through downtown Flushing last weekend as the neighborhood celebrated the Lunar New Year with its annual parade.
Thousands of people braved the cold weather and lined Flushing’s main streets to catch a glimpse of the colorful spectacle.
“The best part of the parade is it shows solidarity in our community. We all participate in this event,” said City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing). “New York is a multicultural society. In order for us to live peacefully together, we have to mutually respect each others’ culture and traditions. This is a chance to show that.”
Dozens of decorated floats projected confetti through the air as giant dragons carried on poles by dancers swirled through the streets.
Organizers expected more than 100,000 New Yorkers would flock to Flushing for this year’s parade, which attracted people from all over the city.
Emma Huang, 10, of Manhattan, went to the parade because she missed the one in her own borough. She said her parents gave her the choice between going ice skating and attending the parade.
“I think this is definitely better than ice skating,” she said.
“My favorite part is the dragons,” she added as she watched two red paper dragons pass by on Main Street.
The NYPD marching band and a group of elected officials led the parade, which started in front of the 109th Precinct and wound through downtown Flushing to Queens Crossing.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was characteristically 30 minutes late, joined his colleagues after the parade was already under way.
“This is an extraordinary community we’re in,” the mayor said. “A community that exemplifies the strength of New York City, exemplifies the future of New York City and as I’ve said many times before, will have a government that believes in all five boroughs, that believes in every community, including all the immigrant communities that are making this city stronger all the time.”
When asked by reporters about his comments concerning making the Lunar New Year a school holiday, de Blasio repeated his pledge.
“We’re going to work on it. It’s a complicated thing with both the Lunar New Year and the Eid holidays for the Muslim community,” he said. “It will take some time, but we’re committed to getting it done.”
The mayor was whisked away by his security team before the parade ended at Queens Crossing, where his colleagues spoke and gave a framed proclamation to the parade’s organizer, Peter Tu, president of the Flushing Chinese Business Association.
“This says City Hall acknowledges all of your hard work to make this day happen,” Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Whitestone) said. “On behalf of the City Council, congratulations Peter.”
The parade was the result of months of work by Tu and the business association, who had met every Tuesday evening since the fall to organize and plan the event.
Speeches were followed by Chinese fireworks, which served as an exclamation point on what organizers described as Flushing’s largest Lunar New Year parade yet.
Organizers said they hope the city will provide the parade with a larger route next year, as the parade has outgrown its current one.
Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobinson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
