Mayor Eric Adams announced today he is officially designating Juneteenth as a paid city holiday.

Juneteenth was officially designated as a federal holiday back in 2017. June 19 marks the anniversary of the day federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to announce that all enslaved people were free. The event came two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, recognizing the effective end of slavery in the United States.

“It’s time for our city to finally do what’s right and officially designate Juneteenth as a city holiday. This decision is long overdue, which is why it will immediately take effect this year," says Mayor Adams.