The Bangladeshi community in Queens is calling on lawmakers in Albany to recognize their religious rights.
Next week members of the growing ethnic group will head to the state capitol for their 5th annual Legislative Day trip.
It’s an opportunity for them to speak with at least 80 politicians.
The group is hoping to address six specific issues currently affecting their community including availability of Halal Food in Schools.
According to members, the state does not provide proper dietary foods for kids of the Muslim faith.
"The New York City Department of Education has rules….they promised to provide nutritious food to the children, though our children do not eat the food that they provide them. What's happening at the end of the day, the lunch money, the lunch they're giving the children they're throwing it out in the dumpster," the Chairman of the Bangladeshi American Advocacy Group, Kamal Bahuiyan said.
The group is also hoping to get the state to recognize the Muslim holiday Eid as a statewide holiday.