City touts dawn start, more police for safer J’Ouvert
EXTRA COPS and a later start time will help tamp down the violence that has usually accompanied Brooklyn’s annual J’Ouvert celebration, Mayor de Blasio said Monday.
Gathering at the Brooklyn Public Library’s main branch at Grand Army Plaza, de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill announced the new tactics designed to keep the celebration before the annual New York Caribbean Carnival Parade safe.
“Our message today is that this will not be tolerated,” de Blasio said about the violence that has marred J’Ouvert in past years.
“No effort to incite violence will be tolerated. The NYPD will be out in force with a zero tolerance attitude toward anything that might endanger other people.”
Set for Labor Day, Sept. 4, J’Ouvert precedes the New York Caribbean Carnival Parade, but is not affiliated with it.
Historically, J’Ouvert, which means “daybreak,” kicks off at 2 a.m. the morning of the parade. This year, organizers have agreed to push back the kickoff to 6 a.m., cutting the nine-hour celebration by nearly half.
The parade route — which starts at Grand Army Plaza, goes south on Flatbush Ave., east on Empire Blvd., south on Nostrand Ave. and ends at Midwood St. — will be closed to the public beginning at 11 p.m. the night before the parade, police said. In addition, hundreds of additional police officers — a 10% increase over prior years — will protect 12 entry points throughout the parade route during J’Ouvert.
Last year, two people were killed during the overnight revelry despite an increased NYPD presence, lighting and other new measures.
In 2015, the celebration of Caribbean culture was marred by bloodshed when 43-year-old Carey Gabay, a Harvard-educated lawyer and aide to Gov. Cuomo, was caught in gang members’ crossfire and fatally wounded near the parade route.
“Historically, it hasn’t been the people who have come to legitimately celebrate their heritage, their culture (who have been violent),” O’Neill said.
“It’s a real small percentage of the population — out-and-out criminals who senselessly carry out violence against others just for the sake of doing so.”
J’Ouvert and parade revelers will be screened for weapons and alcoholic beverages. Large bags and backpacks will be prohibited from the celebration, cops said.