New York City relaxes strict parking laws for Diwali

For immigrants in the US of A, there are many ways to show off they've arrived: the mandatory BMW, a suburban home, an annual parade down main street.

But there's a bigger sign, especially in space-starved New York City, of whether a community has made it big, and that's suspending alternate side of the street parking to celebrate its festivals.

And as Hindus celebrate their most important festival, Diwali, this Friday, they will do so in their homes, temples, light diyas, visit friends and relatives.

And, they 'won't have to worry about getting a parking ticket,' Uma Mysorekar, president of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, which runs the popular Ganesh temple in Flushing, Queens, told Daily News.

And how the city came to suspend the parking rule is a story in itself. A few summers ago, a young Indian American intern from the Indian American Centre for Political Awareness, a political empowerment group, realised that of the 33 days in a year on which the alternate-side parking rule is suspended were Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular holidays, but no Hindu festival.

The next year another intern petitioned the local politician to introduce legislation adding Diwali to the list. Support to the move on the city council was strong, but the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, vetoed it citing how expensive the move was. What he really meant was the loss of income to the council through collection of fines for parking violations.

However, the city council overrode the mayor's veto and the measure became law in late 2005, too late to catch that year's Diwali.

And in 2006, Diwali fell on a Saturday, when parking laws are relaxed, so no one really noticed the change.

This year will be the first time that time that New York's motorists, Hindu and non-Hindu alike, will benefit from the measure.

'Most drivers will say 'I really don't care why', but some people will say, 'What is this Diwali thing?' Udai Tambar, a city employee involved with the measure, told the Daily News. 'It all started with a couple of college kids who raised their hands at the right time.'