Good morning.

Welcome to the committee vote on cultural affairs, libraries, and international relations.

At this time, we ask that you please silence all electronics, and please do not approach the days.

Chair, you may begin.

Thank you so much, Sergeant.

Good morning.

I am Nantasha Williams, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Relations.

Today the committee will hear and vote on two resolutions.

Proposed resolution number 458A, sponsored by Councilmember Shirley Aldeball, which would call on the governor to sign to empower the New York State Council on the Arts to designate Little Yemen as a cultural district and resolution number 646, sponsored by Councilmember Amanda Fadius, which would declare October as Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month in the City of New York.

Now, Councilmember Aldeball would like to deliver remarks on her resolution.

Thank you, Chair Williams.

I am so proud to be here today for the committee vote on resolution 458A supporting the designation of Little Yemen,

the

Little Yemen neighborhood in Van Ness Morris Park as an official New York State cultural district.

By passing this resolution, we can affirm our support for the Yemeni community and our united stance against Islamophobia and racism.

Little Yemen is a vibrant community with a proud history that I have the honor of representing on city council.

It's cultural institutions, small businesses, and residents are an important part of the East Bronx's identity.

The cultural district designation would recognize and celebrate the Yemeni community's rich cultural heritage and contributions to the East Bronx, while providing new funding pathways for investment into this important community.

A huge thank you to my colleagues, State Senator Uh Fernandez and Assembly Member Zaccaro for championing this legislation in Albany.

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Williams, for including the bill on today's agenda, and to the committee members for your support.

I look forward to continuing to stand with the East Bronx Yemeni community and to the official recognition of Little Yemen as a cultural district.

Thank you, Councilmember Aldebol.

I would like to thank my staff and committee staff who worked on preparing for today, including Alejandro,

the

committee senior legislative council and Regina Paul.

The

excuse me, this is what I get for eating.

Committee senior policy analysts who drafted these resolutions.

Yeah, if I will now open the hearing for public testimony.

It's yeah, people are here.

Okay.

I remind members of the public that this is a formal government proceeding and that decorum shall be observed at all times.

As such, members of the public shall remain silent at all times.

The witness table is reserved for people who wish to testify.

No video recording or photography is allowed from the witness table.

Further, members of the public may not present audio or video recordings as testimony, but may submit transcripts of such recordings

to

the sergeant at arms for inclusion in the hearing record.

If you wish to speak at today's hearing, please fill out an appearance card with the sergeant at arms and wait to be recognized.

When recognized, we will have two minutes to speak on today's hearing topic, which is the legislation I have just outlined.

If you have a written statement or additional written testimony you wish to submit for the record, please provide a copy of that testimony to the sergeant at arms.

I will now call the witnesses.

We don't have sheets, so you can go to the witness table.

Are there any other witnesses or people who wish to testify?

Okay.

If you could just fill out a slip after you're done, that'd be great.

Yes.

Hi, everybody.

My name is Zaid Nagy.

I'm the president of the Alliance of Yemeni Americans.

Yemen is 7,000 years old.

But this is not just about Yemen or Yemeni American community.

This is about the Bronx.

Using Yemen tradition and the Yemeni American culture and the Yemeni culture as a general, the ultimate goal of this resolution is to bring tourism into the Bronx.

The Bronx is we are a Bronxite as much as we are Yemeni Americans.

And oftentimes the Bronx is neglected.

This particular resolution will make it almost a must for anybody who entered the city of New York as a tourist or any other way to visit the Bronx.

Who is interested in understanding Yemen, the Arab, the Muslim culture generally?

This will mean more jobs.

Thank