PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tenzin Pindo on Intro 100 - Suspending Alternate Side Parking for Losar
3:17:57
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122 sec
Tenzin Pindo, a Tibetan New Yorker, testified in support of Intro 100, which would make Losar (Tibetan New Year) a holiday for alternate side parking in NYC. She shared his personal experience as an immigrant and emphasized the importance of cultural recognition for the Tibetan and Himalayan communities in the city.
- Pindo highlighted the city's large Tibetan (20,000) and Himalayan (61,000) population
- She stressed the positive impact this recognition would have on Tibetan-American children feeling seen and understood
- The testimony connected the proposed ASP suspension to broader themes of inclusivity and cultural recognition in NYC
Tenzin Pindo
3:17:57
Good morning.
3:17:58
Sorry, actually.
3:17:59
Good afternoon, members of the transportation committee.
3:18:02
I'd like to start by first thinking chairwoman Brooks Powers for a co sponsoring introduction 100.
3:18:09
Thank you for being an advocate for my community.
3:18:12
My name is Vincent Pindel.
3:18:14
I'm a Tibetan New Yorker originally from Nepal, and I'm here today to testify in support of intro 100 from council member, Julie Wong, to make Lazar, or to that New Year, a holiday for alternate side parking, also known as ASV.
3:18:29
Like many in the city, my family and I immigrated here when I was 9, and my sister's 7, and we were raised in Astoria in LIC.
3:18:36
From spring of 2003, my younger sister and I attended PS 166 in a story of for elementary school.
3:18:43
I then went to IS227 and corona for middle school.
3:18:47
Being New York City public school kids, we were opposed to many different holidays through both school breaks and suspension of ASP once my dad was able to buy a car.
3:18:55
Even though our families didn't celebrate Hanukkah Easter Thanksgiving or Christmas, we understood even at that age that those days were important to others around me.
3:19:05
People we cared about.
3:19:07
I'm now an adult living in Woodside with my uncle aunt and their 3 kids.
3:19:11
Samsung who is 10, Solo who is 7, and Mila 5.
3:19:15
All born in queens, they attend a charter school in the neighborhood and spend their weekends playing in the park and reading books at the library, imagining their friends at their school and in their local park, knowing when and what Lazar is, and its significance in our culture is a beautiful image.
3:19:30
They're feeling seen, heard, and understood by their community, by their city is something they deserve.
3:19:36
The city is home to roughly 20,000 Tibetans out of the larger 61,000 Himalayans.
3:19:42
So lots more families and kids like my little cousins who live in all five boroughs, not just queens and who celebrate Lazar each year.
3:19:49
By suspending ASP on Lazar, New York City would be sending a powerful message, a welcoming and inclusion to all Himalayan New Yorkers that our city recognizes.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
3:19:58
Thank you.
Tenzin Pindo
3:19:59
Thank you.