Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and thousands of New Yorkers celebrated the Lunar New Year in a chaotic but joyous Chinatown Parade on Sunday.
The festivities kicked off on Mott and Hester Streets just after 1 p.m., with dozens of elected officials reaffirming their commitment to the Asian American community. Hochul raised concerns about ICE enforcement, pledging to fight the crackdown.
“To those who call this place your home, and are feeling under attack right now and worried about immigration enforcement force, know that we are on your side. We are going to try to do everything we can to protect you, and we are going to try and shut that down,” Hochul said. You have helped us make this such an enriched, diverse, fascinating place, and we don’t want to lose one fiber of that.”
Despite stating on the campaign trail that he would not march in parades, it was the Lunar New Year Parade that Mamdani attended. He shared that he was invited by Assembly Member Grace Lee and was proud to attend.
“This is such a critical part of what makes us proud to be New Yorkers, to be here and celebrate this community, this celebration together as one. And we know that this is the year of the fire horse. This is the year that we are celebrating the dynamism that comes with this. And we know that 60 years ago, we had another year just like this, where the country came together to fight for equal rights for all,” Mamdani said.
The parade set off from Mott and Hester Streets and saw confetti fly and dragons dance along, and then ran down Mott Street, along East Broadway, and up Chrystie Street.
