Mar 27, 2008 4:56 PM
More than 500 people, mostly UFTers but also students, principals and members of other unions joined the UFT Lunar New Year banquet on March 7 in Chinatown’s Grand Harmony Restaurant (bottom). Marian Thom, long-time chair of the UFT Asian-American Heritage Committee, said more than $1,000 was collected to benefit Asian-American charities, including the Coalition for Asian-Pacific Children, local boy and cub scout groups, and the Asian Women’s Shelter. The New Year’s celebration started with a parade on Feb. 10 as thick crowds lined the streets of Chinatown. Although the new year is the Year of the Rat, that did not preclude the parade featuring the traditional dragon. The UFT gave out more out than 4,000 pencils at the parade.