5 Flushing BID honors seniors at New Year event
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Lunar New Year
has been celebrated for
more than 5,000 years
by a large portion of the
world’s population.
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEB. 3, 2019
In Queens, there is a
large and growing population
of Asian residents.
In Downtown Flushing,
specifically, there are
many first-generation
immigrants who had left
their home for a new life.
The Flushing Improvement
Business
District hosted its third
annual Lunar New Year
celebration Jan. 25 for
senior citizens, who
were greeted to sounds
of traditional folk music
as they entered the
Sheraton LaGuardia
East Hotel ballroom.
Nearly 300 seniors
filled the hotel room —
located at 135-20 39th
Ave. — for the annual
event, which featured
performances such as Peking
Opera, ethnic dance
by the New York Golden
Eagle Senior Arts Group,
and a solo dance by Ashley
Dance Studio.
This year’s Lunar
New Year celebration
was sponsored by local
business MEhome Realty,
which aims to give back
to the community.
Prior to the past celebrations,
which was
open to everyone in the
Flushing community,
this year’s celebration focused
solely on seniors in
the community, according
to Tina Lee, co-chair
of the Flushing BID.
“The primary goal of
this event is to give back
to the community, and seniors
in particular,” said
Lee. “This event is designed
to say thank you to
our seniors in advance of
the Lunar New Year, and
wish everyone a healthy
prosperous New Year.”
Lunar New Year,
which begins Feb. 5,
Tina Lee (back, second from r.), the co-chair of the Flusing BID, helped organize the event. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed
is a huge event in the
Chinese community,
according to Lee.
“It’s a time when
people get together with
their families. It’s kind
of like Christmas and
Thanksgiving. Although
the Flushing BID’s main
goal is to promote economic
development and
keep the community
clean, I think it’s really
important that we as a
community recognize
people that contribute to
it and are a part of the
community.”
After the performance,
Flushing BID board members
worked together to
distribute about 350 Lunar
New Year gift bags
and food to seniors.