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Mayor Adams hosts Lebanese flag raising event in NYC

Consul John Abi-Habib has strong Brooklyn roots in Bay Ridge and Brooklyn Heights

December 20, 2024 Wayne Daren Schneiderman

The Lebanese flag being raised alongside America’s stars and stripes.

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NEW YORK CITY — A Lebanese flag raising ceremony was recently hosted by New York City Mayor Eric Adams — the first of its kind in New York — to celebrate Lebanon Independence Day, the Lebanese community and their contributions to the city.

John Abi-Habib, New Jersey’s honorary consul of Lebanon, was the master of ceremonies for the hour-long presentation that took place the afternoon of Dec. 6. by the Charging Bull on Broadway, just north of Bowling Green in the Financial District. Abi-Habib also serves on the vestry of the Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn Heights.

From left: New York City Mayor Eric Adams; John Abi-Habib, New Jersey’s honorary consul of Lebanon; and Lebanese opera singer Amine Hachem.

Also in attendance at the event was Edward Mermelstein, New York City commissioner for international affairs; Manuel Castro, New York City commissioner for the mayor’s office (immigrant affairs); and Majdi Ramadan, Charge D’Affairs of Lebanon in New York.

Adams referred to New York City as “the Beirut of America,” with its large Lebanese community, and said that it “breaks his heart” to see conflict in the region, but noted that, “Whatever plays out on the international stage, plays out on the streets of New York.”

“I wanted to be here today to have the first flag raising of the Lebanese community at Bowling Green, where many of you started prior to building the Battery Tunnel,” Adams said. “You settled here, you worked here, you believed in what this city had to offer, and what this country has to offer. I thank you for what you have done.”

Abi-Habib explained that the flag raising represents the strength and bond between the two nations, and the shared values of peace and friendship. “It also brings us closer together,” he said.

Abi-Habib also spoke exclusively to the Brooklyn Eagle about the growing Lebanese population in New York. He pointed out that while Lebanese have been coming to New York City since the early 1900s, Manhattan and Brooklyn have both seen an influx in people from the Eastern Mediterranean country.

“I would have to say that the number today in Manhattan is as high as north of 200,000,” Abi-Habib said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (left); and Majdi Ramadan, Charge D’Affairs of Lebanon in New York.

While he could not pinpoint an exact figure, Abi-Habib also noted that a significant portion of those coming from Lebanon to New York also reside in Brooklyn.

“In the early 1900s, the first landing for Lebanese was in Brooklyn Heights,” Abi-Habib said. Fast forward to the 1950s and 1960s, and Bay Ridge, aka little Beirut, became a desired destination as well, he added. “Within the last couple of decades, we are seeing even more Lebanese come to the borough of Brooklyn, many young professionals especially.”

Abi-Habib said this is primarily because of Brooklyn’s proximity to Manhattan, as well as its immense diversity.