Every year, for over 50 years, Labor Day and Caribbean cultural celebrations have dominated neighborhoods in Brooklyn with bright colors, dancing, and festive music.
This year will mark the first time many of these parades and traditions and enormous crowds of people will be missed. Plenty of organizers have taken on the daunting task of adapting a lively festival into a virtual or much smaller, socially distanced experience though, while law enforcement and electeds like Mayor Bill De Blasio and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams take precautions to maintain safety.
In past years, NYPD has worked with local officials and organizations on Labor Day and days leading up to it, said De Blasio at yesterday’s morning’s daily briefing.
“Now this year is entirely different. You won’t have the big organized events that are the core of all that. Everyone, I think understands the danger of gatherings, but we still have to do important work to make sure people are safe in every sense. So we’ll get you an update on the specific planning, but again, what has worked in recent years will, I think work in a very different situation here. It is that close coordination with the community,” said De Blasio.
De Blasio said considering it’s a very important point in the year for folks from the Caribbean there will likely be some celebrations but it has to be done safely, and that’s the plan that has been worked through with community leaders and continues to be.
The NYPD said, in a blanket statement to any potential violence on Labor Day, that they have been here for the people of New York in the past, are here for them today, and will be here for them tomorrow.
The Borough President’s Chief of Staff Ryan Lynch said that the J’Ouvert and West Indian Day Parade planning committee have been meeting with elected officials, clergy, cure violence groups, and law enforcement, and will implement the same plans as previous years to stem gun violence. “While there are no formal mass parades or gatherings this year, NYPD is planning on special details to monitor backyard illegal parties and will be on alert in case of any impromptu J’Ouvert mass gatherings,” said Lynch.
Meanwhile, the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA) officially kicks off this Friday, August 28 with it’s summer youth talent showcase. It will be followed by the Carnival Brass Fest on Friday, September 4, the New York Carnival ‘ONE LOVE’ Virtual Road on Monday, September 7, and finally a Panology event that will focus on the revolution of the steel pan on Saturday, September 26 to cap everything off.
“We will not give in to COVID-19,” said WIADCA Board Chair and longtime member Angela Sealy in a press release. “We will celebrate our collective heritage, our joy and creative expressions in every way we can, safely. Concern for our fellow citizens requires that we follow guidelines set by the Mayor, the Governor and local and state health officials, and virtual is the way to go. It is our future. See you in 2021,” stated Sealy.
“It’ll be completely different,” said WIADCA representative about the virtual festival, “it’s going to be more of a documentary of how the carnival started from slavery up to current.”
She said that people going out into the streets during the ongoing health crisis may still be a concern this year, but they have no control over it.
As far as J’Ouvert celebrations go, that has also shifted plans this year to accommodate the COVID-19 crisis. The name J’Ouvert, which precedes Labor Day’s West Indian Day parade in the wee hours of the morning, “originates from the French jour ouvert, meaning daybreak or morning, and signals the start of Carnival.”
J’Ouvert City International announced its plans for the 2020 festival to invite local elected officials on Monday, September 7, to honor essential workers with breakfast.
“The honorees will include 15 essential workers drawn from a pool of nurses, aides, homeless shelter advocates, MTA workers and the Mayor’s Crisis Management System. Several J’Ouvert Masquerade and Steelband groups who participated in the 2019 parade will also be among the awardees. In addition, special honor will be given to Martin “Dougie” Douglas, Hansel “Hanny” Leon and Oscar Williams three icons of the J’Ouvert Steelband movement who we sadly loss to the coronavirus, as well as Mr. Neville Jules, one of the notable pioneers and innovators in the steelpan community died in early February,” said Yvette Rennie, President of J’Ouvert City International, in a statement.
City Councilmember Farah Louis (D-East Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatlands, Marine Park, Midwood) couldn’t be reached for comment.
