City Offices and Facilities Closed Wednesday, June 19 as New Bedford Observes Juneteenth

NEW BEDFORD – City offices will be closed to the public on Wednesday, June 19, as New Bedford observes the Juneteenth holiday. This includes public libraries. Buttonwood Park Zoo will remain open.

The City of New Bedford was gifted an Official Juneteenth Flag by Human Rights Commissioner Sidney A. Murray II. The flag will be hoisted Tuesday, June 18, as part of the City’s annual flag raising ceremony at 4 p.m. at City Hall.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, specifically the date that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were finally notified of their emancipation on June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Juneteenth was first recognized in Massachusetts in 2007 and was formally designated a state holiday during the summer of 2020. Observance of the holiday began in 2021, and Mayor Jon Mitchell designated Juneteenth a City-observed holiday beginning that year.

Wednesday’s observance will delay residential trash, recycling, bulky pickup, and yard waste routes by one day for customers with normal pickup Wednesday-Friday as there will be no collection on Wednesday. Downtown and Commercial collection will not take place on Wednesday but will remain on schedule for Thursday and Friday. There is no delay in business cardboard pickup.