Top NYPD brass outlined safety precautions on Thursday in preparation for this weekend’s celebration of J’Ouvert and the West Indian-American Day Carnival Parade.
For years, the cultural significance and impact of the J’Ouvert Parade has been overshadowed by deadly gun violence; last year, however, marked the third-safest Labor Day weekend since the NYPD began tracking crime through CompStat. Police Commissioner Edward Caban said on Aug. 31 that he is looking to continue that momentum in 2023.
“It is the NYPD’s job to make it safe for everyone to enjoy as we do every year. We’ll have a strong police presence out at events throughout the weekend. Our uniformed officers will be on foot posts out on patrol and working day and night to protect residents,” the top cop said.
According to Chief of Patrol John Chell, last year, authorities recovered 27 guns from Thursday through Labor Day. Chell also told amNewYork Metro that, last year, the NYPD conferred with and worked alongside other city agencies such as the FDNY, DOT, sheriff’s office, DLT and more in order to establish an inter-agency partnership that he believes helped curb the violence through orchestrated interactions.
“Let me give you two examples: In the extreme, we had one call to a loud party and it was a known gang location, through the power of the agencies, we were able shut that party down with no arrests and no incidents,” Chell said. “Conversely, there were other times in the community we went to parties that we got 311 we complaints. Great parties, great people. It was so powerful. To send DEP, with the permission of the owner, to the backyard to raise [the volume] up as high as you can go without violating the law. And the party continued.”
Police officials stated that Monday’s J’Ouvert Parade route, kicking off at Rochester Avenue in Crown Heights, will have 13 entrances at which all individuals passing through the checkpoints along the Eastern Parkway will have to be screened, while also being subject to random search.
Starting on Aug. 31, the department says, thousands of cops will be surged into the area for celebrations that include house parties and other events taking place over the holiday weekend. This will be in addition to private security at the parades themselves, along with violence interrupters.
Chief Chell also issued a stern warning to those who want to cause violence during this weekend’s festivities.
“For anyone who thinks they’re going to come into this two-day weekend with bad intentions, we all here stand together and we say not this weekend, nor any other weekends,” Chell said.
