A little background: by default, old zic produces zoneinfo files containing both 32-bit and 64-bit data, while new zic produces only 64-bit data. Dynamic i386 binaries should work correctly since they will be using a 32-bit version of new libc, but static i386 binaries will not work.

BTW, I'm also tempted to drop the -p ${POSIXRULES} part, which (with POSIXRULES=America/New_York) effectively means “when in doubt, assume you're in New York”. The hardcoded default has the same effect, there is no value in enshrining it in the Makefile.

In D38142#866566, @des wrote:

BTW, I'm also tempted to drop the -p ${POSIXRULES} part, which (with POSIXRULES=America/New_York) effectively means “when in doubt, assume you're in New York”. The hardcoded default has the same effect, there is no value in enshrining it in the Makefile.

I think that might also be fine. IIRC, years ago (like in the 90s or early 2000s) this was needed because we didn't have a default... but it's been a very very long time and I didn't go back and spelunk the repo to see if this memory is right or not.