J’Ouvert Safety Measures Will Make Crown Heights Like 'Times Square On New Year’s Eve'

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN – Following gun violence at last year’s J’Ouvert, the annual celebration of Caribbean culture in Crown Heights, the city is taking safety steps similar to the measures used for New Year’s Eve in Times Square, officials said on Monday.

Along with pushing back the start of J’Ouvert from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., the NYPD will deploy “hundreds” of extra officers along the route, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials.

“Picture what happens on New Year’s Eve in Times Square,” de Blasio said at a press conference at Grand Army Plaza. “You are not bringing big bags, you’re certainly not bringing anything that could be a danger to anyone else. You’re not bringing alcohol. It’s a very controlled environment.”

The night before J’Ouvert, which falls on Monday, Sept. 4, the NYPD plans to close Empire Boulevard from Flatbush to Norstrand avenues and Norstrand Avenue from Empire Boulevard to Midwood Street.

J’Ouvert is a pre-festival that happens early morning before the New York Caribbean Carnival Parade. The two are not officially affiliated.

To enter J'Ouvert, there will be 12 checkpoints where officers will use magnetometers to screen for weapons and check for other prohibited items.

Perhaps the biggest change is delaying the start of the celebration to around sunrise. It would usually start around 2 a.m.

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“People act differently during the day,” de Blasio said, adding that the change in time would “psychologically and operationally” change the character of J’Ouvert, which precedes the West Indian American Day Parade.

During last year’s celebration, four people were shot, two of them fatally. In 2015, two were killed, including Carey Gabay, a lawyer for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

De Blasio said the safety changes came out of meetings with community stakeholders.

Along with the extra police officers, “violence interrupters” will be on hand during J’Ouvert, according to the mayor’s office. They were described as former gang members who will try to preempt and resolve street disputes.

The mayor’s office also said it’s given out $1,000 grants to community organizations to help them spread anti-violence messages on Labor Day weekend.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said in spite of the recent violence, it was vital to preserve J’Ouvert.

“Crown Heights is ground zero for gentrification and there is a large number of Caribbean and African Americans and even other groups who find this home that believe that those cultural norms are going to be taken away from them merely because the demographic ethnicity is changing,” he said.

“We need to send a right message, that we are going to respect those cultural norms.”

Lead image by Terrence Jennings via AP.