NYCs notorious West Indian American Day parade to end early in effort to curb violence
New York City’s notoriously bloody West Indian American Day parade will wrap up at an earlier-than-usual time on Monday in an effort to curb violence.The 59th annual celebration along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn will begin at 11 a.m.and end promptly at 5:30 p.m.
— a deliberate choice after six people were shot during last year’s festivities, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference on Friday.“That end time is deliberate, given the history of violence we have seen on and around the parade route at that hour and later,” Tisch told reporters.“Last year, we saw three separate shooting incidents on or near the parade route at approximately 5:35, 6:15, and 6:30 p.m., resulting in six people being shot.
The NYPD was forced to shut down last year’s celebration as a result of this violence.”Thousands of cops will be on the beat during the West Indian Day Parade and the early-bird J’Ouvert Festival, which begins at 6 a.m.and runs until the parade kicks off.
The number of officers on the force during the annual twin events celebrating Caribbean culture and heritage has increased from last year — though the department did not elaborate on how many more cops would be hitting the streets.“The J’ouvert Festival and the West Indian American Day Parade will bring hundreds of thousands of people to Brooklyn this weekend, and the NYPD will be out in full force,” the top cop said.“Thousands of NYPD cops will be on the parade routes and in the surrounding neighborhoods from Sunday night through Monday.This is one of our department’s largest deployments of the year at this time.”Like last year, the J’Ouvert Festival will have 13 entry points along the parade route where spectators will be screened by cops using magnetometers beginning at around 2 a.m.
Revelers will be barred from bringing in drones, weapons, alcohol, coolers, backpacks, large bags, umbrellas, blankets, chairs, or any other items that can obstruct or interfere with a...