Bill Text: NY K00970 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 29, 2022, as Mount Everest Day in the State of New York

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-2)

Status: (Passed) 2022-05-24 - adopted [K00970 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-K00970-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 970

BY: M. of A. Rules (Rajkumar)

        LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION, memorializing Governor Kathy
        Hochul  to  proclaim  May 29, 2022, as Mount Everest
        Day in the State of New York

  WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative  Body  to  support  and
promote  the historic and significant observance of Mount Everest Day in
New York State; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  this  Legislative  Body  is  justly proud to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May  29,  2022,  as  Mount
Everest Day in the State of New York, in conjunction with the observance
of international Mount Everest Day; and

  WHEREAS,  A holiday in Nepal and around the world, Mount Everest Day
commemorates the anniversary of the  first  confirmed  summit  of  Mount
Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa on May 29, 1953;
and

  WHEREAS,  Summiting Mount Everest is generally considered one of the
greatest achievements in life, with over 10,000  successful  summits  by
more than 6,000 people; and

  WHEREAS,  The  entire  world  also  honors  the  more than 300 brave
climbers who lost their lives attempting to summit the mountain; and

  WHEREAS, Mount Everest, also  known  as  Sagarmatha  in  Nepali  and
Chomolungma  in Tibetan and the Sherpa language, is the highest mountain
above sea level in the world, with an elevation of over 29,000 feet; and

  WHEREAS, Having formed about 55 million years ago from the collision
of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates, the mountain is located in  the
Mahalangur  Himal section of the Himalaya mountain range, situated along
the border of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China; and

  WHEREAS, A UNESCO World Heritage site, Mount Everest is one  of  the
most  iconic  and  well-known  geological sites in the world, attracting
thousands of visitors and hundreds of climbers most years,  and  serving
as a source of pride and engine of economic growth for Nepal; and

  WHEREAS,  The  name  Chomolungma,  meaning  "Mother  Goddess  of the
World," has existed for centuries; and in  the  twentieth  century,  the
Nepalese government adopted the Nepali name Sagarmatha, meaning "Goddess
of  the  Sky"  or  "Head  in  the  Sky,"  at  the suggestion of Nepalese
historian Baburam Acharya; and

  WHEREAS, The mountain carries spiritual  significance  in  Buddhism,
regarded  as  the  home  of Miyolangsangma, the Goddess of Inexhaustible
Giving, and is the site of the Rongbuk Monastery; and

  WHEREAS, The Sherpa people, who trace their  origins  to  the  Mount
Everest  region,  and  count among them elite mountaineers, constitute a
thriving  community  in  New  York   City,   where   thousands   reside,

predominantly  in  Queens,  and  contribute to the vitality of the city,
which honored the community by co-naming a street in Jackson Heights  as
Mount Everest Way; and

  WHEREAS,  Among the outstanding achievements of the Sherpa community
in New York is  the  US  Nepal  Climbers  Association  Inc.,  under  the
leadership  of  President Passang Nima Sherpa, which engages in advocacy
and education  on  sustainable  mountaineering  around  the  world,  and
supports the welfare of the Sherpa people in Nepal; and

  WHEREAS,  Mount  Everest  and its environs face conservation threats
including accumulation of waste on the mountain, habitat destruction  to
develop tourism infrastructure, deforestation, and snow and ice receding
due to climate change; and

  WHEREAS,  It is imperative that there be greater public awareness of
this serious environmental issue, and more  must  be  done  to  increase
activity  at  the  local, state, national and international levels; now,
therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to proclaim May 29, 2022, as Mount
Everest Day in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That copies of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York, the Consul General of Nepal and the US Nepal Climbers  Association
Inc.