New York Councilman Lobbies for Purim Parking

February 13, 2002

Source: New York Daily News

On February 13, 2002, The New York Daily News reported that Councilman Simcha Felder is working to get "easier parking for observers of the upcoming Jewish Purim... as they deliver their traditional gifts or attend synagogues... Felder, of Brooklyn, has launched a lobbying campaign to get the alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules temporarily suspended for this Purim... Felder and more than 30 Council allies have reintroduced a bill to add Purim to the list of 29 legal and religious holidays on which the alternate-side rules are permanently suspended... Felder, an Orthodox Jew, says Purim is 'one of the happiest days in the Jewish calendar'... But for Purim celebrants the day is often a parking nightmare... Purim is different from other Jewish holidays, such as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, when driving is prohibited by religious rules. Instead, driving is almost mandatory... The holiday commemorates a time when Jews in Persia were saved from extermination. It is celebrated by bringing gifts to relatives and friends and giving food baskets to the poor. And that means a lot of driving and parking, Felder said."