De Blasio Promises 'Safest J'Ouvert Ever'

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — At a Wednesday press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio promised Brooklyn "the safest J'Ouvert ever."

Last year's event, an overnight celebration of Carribean culture proceeding Labor Day's West Indian Day Parade, was marred by the tragic shooting death of Carey Gabay, a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo whom police say was caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout in front of the Ebbets Field Houses on Bedford Avenue.

In June, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson announced that three individuals had been charged with murder in connection to the shooting, though he said the investigation was ongoing.

Wednesday's gathering, held on Flatbush Avenue near the start of the J'Ouvert parade route, was the second press conference by top New York officials in five weeks focused on the security of the event.

De Blasio emphasized the importance of J'Ouvert to the city's Carribean community, whom he referred to as "one of the central pillars of New York City."

"We are not going to let a few bad apples destroy something that is so important to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers," he said.

Outgoing NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said the city had learned from other parades, such as the St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Puerto Rican Day Parade, both of which he said had become much safer and more orderly in recent years.

Officials said the NYPD would deploy 200 light towers along the J'Ouvert parade route and within the surrounding community, up from 40 last year.

Bratton said that "easily several thousand officers" would work overnight and during the parade to police crowds the city expects to grow to about 1.5 million. And he repeated earlier assurances that the NPYD would closely monitor known gang members to prevent potential violence.

James O'Neill, who will take over the police department in September, also urged families to monitor their children and report any suspicious activity.

De Blasio stressed that all of the NYPD's security plans had been worked out over months in conjunction with Carribean community leaders, as well as members of Carey Gabay's family, in honor of the cultural heritage he prized.

"It is very important that we can do this so we can pass on our culture to our children," said Yvette Rennie, the head of J'Ouvert City International, which produces the annual event. "Our culture has no part of violence."

And Pastor Gilford Monrose, the director of Faith-Based and Clergy Initiatives for Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, said he and other faith leaders had been "praying with their feet" in recent weeks, meeting with community members to spread a message of peace.

The tone of Wednesday's event, while serious, was arguably upbeat compared to that of the NYPD flyers recently distributed in Crown Heights.

"Do not shoot anyone. Do not stab anyone," the documents read, leading some community members to say the city was unfairly portraying Crown Heights as a violence-prone area.

Asked about the flyers on Wednesday, Yvette Rennie said she wasn't directly involved in their design, and declined to comment on the phrasing of their message.

Pictured at top: Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks on Wednesday; at right, Yvette Rennie, the head of J'Ouvert City International. Photo by John V. Santore