Albany, N.Y. - Juneteenth has no become an official public holiday in New York state. Gov Cuomo signed the legislation recognizing the holiday.
Earlier this year, Cuomo issued an executive order recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday for state employees.
Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was announced, enslaved Americans in Texas learned they had been freed.
Cuomo said, "I am incredibly proud to sign into law this legislation declaring Juneteenth an official holiday in New York State, a day which commemorates the end to slavery in the United States."