Wishing Hackney a happy and safe Purim
This weekend, the annual Jewish festival, Purim, will take place in the Stamford Hill area.
From the evening of Saturday 23 March until Monday evening, the streets around Stamford Hill will be busier than normal as people celebrate Purim, one of the most important festivals in the Jewish calendar.
Purim commemorates a story from the Book of Esther, where the Jewish people were saved from a threatened massacre in the ancient Persian Empire. The celebrations include extravagant costumes, the exchanging of gift baskets, performances, and a feast.
During Purim, the Council and partners, including the Metropolitan Police, encourage everyone to think about their safety and be considerate of others.
- Please think about if you need to drive or if you can use alternative transport, such as walking, cycling or public transport
- Do not drink and drive
- Please keep the volume of all music to respectful levels at all times and ensure trucks emitting music are not parked in front of residential property
- Please do not play loud music or sound car horns after 10 pm. Residents who wish to make a noise complaint can go to https://hackney.gov.uk/noise or contact the Council’s Enforcement Service on 0208 356 4455. The line will be open until midnight on both nights
- If you intend to use flatbed trucks to carry passengers on the back, ensure they have the required safety equipment to protect your passengers, that your driving licence allows you to carry passengers in this way and your vehicle insurance and any hire agreements cover this use of the truck
- Please drive and park respectfully so that vehicles can pass each other and are in compliance with relevant parking restrictions
- Please do not wear costumes or make-up that could be offensive to other communities.
We’re proud that Hackney is a vibrant and diverse place where our community comes together to celebrate their faith.
It will be great to see residents and visitors celebrating Purim, particularly as it is such a colourful and cheerful event. During this special festival, we extend our well wishes to everyone celebrating and hope that they also bring joy to the rest of the borough.
On behalf of Hackney Council, I wish everyone a happy Purim. We want to ensure that all of our residents and visitors have a safe and joyful time during the festival, while also being considerate of their neighbours who might not be celebrating.
There will be additional Police and Council Community Safety Officers reassurance patrols in the area to ensure that the community can experience the celebrations safely, as we know that the streets around Stamford Hill will be busy. We encourage everyone to take care when planning their transport this weekend and remember to keep the noise down in the evening.
A major theme on Purim is to engender unity and to bring joy and happiness to oneself and others. We are instructed that the greatest expression and fulfilment of the above duty is when it reaches especially the lonely and broken hearted, bringing a ray of light into their hearts, a smile to their face and a desire to dance in their feet.
I trust that we will all endeavour to ensure that our behaviour on Purim will be in this spirit. Wishing everyone in Hackney and beyond a truly happy and meaningful Purim!