"Mayor Michael Bloomberg will officially declare Arab-American Heritage Week during festivities taking place between July 9 and 16. New York City Arab-American organizations and museums will host events in order to introduce New Yorkers to the vast diversity of Arab people, their cultural traditions, customs, cuisine, art, music and dance."

"Arab Americans have resided in NY since the 1800's and have contributed to New York and the rest of the country in many ways. Today, over 200,000 Arab- Americans populate New York City. The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs has established Arab-American Heritage Week as an annual event in order to commemorate the community's presence and contributions over the years."

For a complete listing of events or for more information about Arab- American Heritage Week, please visit: http://www.arabamericanheritage.net.