City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo (D) and Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley (D), both of whom represent, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights) Friday applauded the efforts of J’Ouvert organizers to quell gun violence at this year’s annual West Indian Day Parade.
That after city officials and J’Ouvert organizers announced that the West Indian American Day Parade is going to be held during sunlight hours for the first time this year.
Organizers are hoping that the change in hours will breathe new life into the annual celebration that in recent years has been marred by a series of gun violence.
“I am thrilled that NYPD, in collaboration with Mayor de Blasio, Borough President Adams, J’Ouvert organizers, myself and my fellow colleagues, have come together to address some of the root issues and community concerns surrounding the senseless acts of violence at J’Ouvert in years past. By moving J’Ouvert kick-off time to 6 a.m. we can anticipate increased visibility, and therefore increased safety for the revelers,” said Mosley.
Traditionally, J’Ouvert begins at about 2 a.m. The new hours for the permitted procession will start at 6 a.m. and end at 11 a.m., J’Ouvert City International President Yvette Rennie told the New York Daily News.
Just last year, two individuals were fatally killed at the event, 17-year-old Tyreke Borel and 22-year-old Tiarah Poyau by a brazen gunman who opened fire into a crowd of people at the event. In 2015, 45-year-old Carey Gabay was fatally shot in the head when he stumbled into a gang fight. Gabay was a lawyer in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration at the time.
Last month, lawmakers and J’ouvert organizers held a series of planning sessions on strategies to curb the gun violence at the annual celebration.
Yvette Rennie, the founder and organizer of J’Ouvert International, one of the attendees at last month’s sessions, urged the importance of the event for the Caribbean community but also made sure to note that it is not the event that causes violence but the attendees.
“We have over 32 steel band organizations who partake in our J’Ouvert, they are not part of the crime. “I look at it as total disrespect for my culture. I hope the conversation will continue to be crime in Brooklyn instead of my culture being targeted,” added Rennie.
The event this year will be held on September 4. As previously stated, city officials have confirmed a coordinated approach ahead of this year’s festivities, including working on education and outreach efforts, adding secure checkpoints at event entrances, increasing lighting and improving management to ensure safety.
J’Ouvert organizers, crisis management and grassroots groups, and city officials will host several anti-gang violence and educational events in the weeks as well.
“Central Brooklyn is home to a thriving population of Caribbean immigrants whose display of culture, cuisine, and music during Labor Day weekend is a time-honored tradition that millions of New Yorkers and tourists enjoy annually. In order to create a safer environment for revelers and residents during J’Ouvert, we are working more closely with the NYPD and event organizers to promote peace and harmony,” said Cumbo.
