Crime & Safety
Extra Cops Headed To Brooklyn For J'Ouvert Weekend: NYPD
Last year, a shooting at an unofficial J'Ouvert party sent six to the hospital. Cops say they are ready this year to police the gatherings.
BROOKLYN, NY — Extra police officers, hundreds of light towers and other NYPD resources will head to Brooklyn this weekend to monitor J'Ouvert and Labor Day celebrations, according to officials.
The extra cops, set up for seven Central Brooklyn precincts, come as New Yorkers prepare to celebrate the holiday weekend without the official West Indian Day Parade and J'Ouvert march for the second year in a row. The NYPD also sent out extra officers during last year's celebrations.
Both the West Indian Day Parade and J'Ouvert, which usually send thousands to Brooklyn's streets, were canceled due to the coronavirus crisis and will be replaced by smaller, in-person and virtual celebrations.
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"The formal J'Ouvert celebrations are off…but at the same time we know it is a crucial moment for so many New Yorkers and for their heritage," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "We want to make sure the NYPD are out there keeping people safe."
Police officers will monitor the line up of smaller West Indian Day events that will be held at the Brooklyn Museum and any "unofficial" celebrations that may pop up throughout the borough, according to NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison.
Find out what's happening in Prospect Heights-Crown Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Harrison said the Brooklyn Museum events will hopefully provide enough of an outlet for celebrating that unofficial gatherings won't be held on the same scale as last year, when a shooting at an unofficial J'Ouvert party sent a 6-year-old boy and five others to the hospital.
The department does expect some non-sanctioned events, though, he said. Officers will be on the look out for underage drinking, excessive noise, hazardous crowds and un-permitted sidewalk barbecues, according to Harrison.
The patrols, along with "light towers" to illuminate the streets, will be set up in the 63rd, 67th, 69th, 70th, 71st, 77th and 78th precincts.
"As a reminder to the public, officers will be out there to enforce quality of life conditions," Harrison said.
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