Massive NYPD Security Presence As 59th Annual West Indian Day Parade Kicks Off in Brooklyn
Eastern Pkwy & Nostrand Ave, Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Published · Updated
Watch Live Videos
Download Citizen
Summary
- The West Indian Day Parade officially steps off at 11 a.m. today from Eastern Parkway and Rochester Avenue, marking the parade's 59th anniversary in Brooklyn.
- Organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, the event is considered the largest Caribbean cultural festival in North America, drawing more than a million participants and spectators annually.
- The parade runs along Eastern Parkway between Ralph Avenue and Plaza Street West, with numerous surrounding streets closed, including Grand Army Plaza, Flatbush Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, Bedford Avenue, and Rockaway Parkway, among others.
- This year's parade will conclude at 5:30 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than in previous years, following incidents of violence at the 2024 and 2025 events.
- NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described this year's security deployment as one of the department's largest, involving thousands of officers, helicopters, drones, and steel barricades installed along nearly two miles of the parade route.
- Two notable violent incidents have included a shooting near the parade route where a man suffered non-life-threatening injuries around 4 p.m., and an incident where a woman and man suffered bullet graze wounds along the parade route. A suspect was detained in the latter incident.
- Additionally, three people were stabbed early Monday morning in an incident leading up to the J'Ouvert celebration that precedes the parade.
Timeline
Crowds donning flags from various countries continue to march alongside colorful floats.
The address reported for this incident has changed to Eastern Pkwy & Nostrand Ave.
Officers are also requesting additional assistance as they encounter fights along the parade route.
Additional user videos show parade floats and participants approaching the end of the route. Nearby spectators are selling food and refreshments.
Marching in the parade or watching from the sidelines? Go LIVE to share the floats, music, and costumes with the community!
City officials say there are no known specific or credible threats to this year's festivities.
Additionally, this year's parade will end 30 minutes earlier than in previous years, wrapping up at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual end time.
Violence interrupters will also be present again this year, working to mediate conflicts and connect at-risk individuals with community resources.
Hundreds of additional officers will be stationed throughout Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods, not just along Eastern Parkway itself, focusing on parks known as hotspots for violence.
NYPD will use helicopters and drones to monitor the event, and a buffer zone will separate spectators from marchers, as is standard for large-scale parades.
A double layer of steel barricades has been installed along nearly two miles of Eastern Parkway to help prevent incidents along the route.
Spectators will be screened by NYPD at all 13 designated entry points along the parade route, with access beginning at 2 a.m.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called this year's deployment one of the department's largest of the year — bigger than New Year's Eve in Times Square or July 4th, according to past comparisons.
Organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, the event is considered the largest Caribbean cultural festival in North America, attracting more than a million participants and spectators.
The West Indian Day Parade — officially the New York Carnival — returns to Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn today for its 59th anniversary, following the earlier J'Ouvert celebration.
Incident reported at Eastern Pkwy & Kingston Ave.
Crowds donning flags from various countries continue to march alongside colorful floats.
The address reported for this incident has changed to Eastern Pkwy & Nostrand Ave.
Officers are also requesting additional assistance as they encounter fights along the parade route.
Additional user videos show parade floats and participants approaching the end of the route. Nearby spectators are selling food and refreshments.
Marching in the parade or watching from the sidelines? Go LIVE to share the floats, music, and costumes with the community!
City officials say there are no known specific or credible threats to this year's festivities.
Additionally, this year's parade will end 30 minutes earlier than in previous years, wrapping up at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual end time.
Violence interrupters will also be present again this year, working to mediate conflicts and connect at-risk individuals with community resources.
Hundreds of additional officers will be stationed throughout Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods, not just along Eastern Parkway itself, focusing on parks known as hotspots for violence.
NYPD will use helicopters and drones to monitor the event, and a buffer zone will separate spectators from marchers, as is standard for large-scale parades.
A double layer of steel barricades has been installed along nearly two miles of Eastern Parkway to help prevent incidents along the route.
Spectators will be screened by NYPD at all 13 designated entry points along the parade route, with access beginning at 2 a.m.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called this year's deployment one of the department's largest of the year — bigger than New Year's Eve in Times Square or July 4th, according to past comparisons.
Organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, the event is considered the largest Caribbean cultural festival in North America, attracting more than a million participants and spectators.
The West Indian Day Parade — officially the New York Carnival — returns to Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn today for its 59th anniversary, following the earlier J'Ouvert celebration.
Incident reported at Eastern Pkwy & Kingston Ave.
Crowds donning flags from various countries continue to march alongside colorful floats.
The address reported for this incident has changed to Eastern Pkwy & Nostrand Ave.
Officers are also requesting additional assistance as they encounter fights along the parade route.
Additional user videos show parade floats and participants approaching the end of the route. Nearby spectators are selling food and refreshments.
Marching in the parade or watching from the sidelines? Go LIVE to share the floats, music, and costumes with the community!
City officials say there are no known specific or credible threats to this year's festivities.
Additionally, this year's parade will end 30 minutes earlier than in previous years, wrapping up at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual end time.
Violence interrupters will also be present again this year, working to mediate conflicts and connect at-risk individuals with community resources.
Hundreds of additional officers will be stationed throughout Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods, not just along Eastern Parkway itself, focusing on parks known as hotspots for violence.
NYPD will use helicopters and drones to monitor the event, and a buffer zone will separate spectators from marchers, as is standard for large-scale parades.
A double layer of steel barricades has been installed along nearly two miles of Eastern Parkway to help prevent incidents along the route.
Spectators will be screened by NYPD at all 13 designated entry points along the parade route, with access beginning at 2 a.m.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called this year's deployment one of the department's largest of the year — bigger than New Year's Eve in Times Square or July 4th, according to past comparisons.
Organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, the event is considered the largest Caribbean cultural festival in North America, attracting more than a million participants and spectators.
The West Indian Day Parade — officially the New York Carnival — returns to Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn today for its 59th anniversary, following the earlier J'Ouvert celebration.
Incident reported at Eastern Pkwy & Kingston Ave.
Crowds donning flags from various countries continue to march alongside colorful floats.
The address reported for this incident has changed to Eastern Pkwy & Nostrand Ave.
Officers are also requesting additional assistance as they encounter fights along the parade route.
Additional user videos show parade floats and participants approaching the end of the route. Nearby spectators are selling food and refreshments.
Marching in the parade or watching from the sidelines? Go LIVE to share the floats, music, and costumes with the community!
City officials say there are no known specific or credible threats to this year's festivities.
Additionally, this year's parade will end 30 minutes earlier than in previous years, wrapping up at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual end time.
Violence interrupters will also be present again this year, working to mediate conflicts and connect at-risk individuals with community resources.
Hundreds of additional officers will be stationed throughout Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods, not just along Eastern Parkway itself, focusing on parks known as hotspots for violence.
NYPD will use helicopters and drones to monitor the event, and a buffer zone will separate spectators from marchers, as is standard for large-scale parades.
A double layer of steel barricades has been installed along nearly two miles of Eastern Parkway to help prevent incidents along the route.
Spectators will be screened by NYPD at all 13 designated entry points along the parade route, with access beginning at 2 a.m.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called this year's deployment one of the department's largest of the year — bigger than New Year's Eve in Times Square or July 4th, according to past comparisons.
Organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, the event is considered the largest Caribbean cultural festival in North America, attracting more than a million participants and spectators.
The West Indian Day Parade — officially the New York Carnival — returns to Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn today for its 59th anniversary, following the earlier J'Ouvert celebration.
Incident reported at Eastern Pkwy & Kingston Ave.
Crowds donning flags from various countries continue to march alongside colorful floats.
The address reported for this incident has changed to Eastern Pkwy & Nostrand Ave.
Officers are also requesting additional assistance as they encounter fights along the parade route.
Additional user videos show parade floats and participants approaching the end of the route. Nearby spectators are selling food and refreshments.
Marching in the parade or watching from the sidelines? Go LIVE to share the floats, music, and costumes with the community!
City officials say there are no known specific or credible threats to this year's festivities.
Additionally, this year's parade will end 30 minutes earlier than in previous years, wrapping up at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual end time.
Violence interrupters will also be present again this year, working to mediate conflicts and connect at-risk individuals with community resources.
Hundreds of additional officers will be stationed throughout Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods, not just along Eastern Parkway itself, focusing on parks known as hotspots for violence.
NYPD will use helicopters and drones to monitor the event, and a buffer zone will separate spectators from marchers, as is standard for large-scale parades.
A double layer of steel barricades has been installed along nearly two miles of Eastern Parkway to help prevent incidents along the route.
Spectators will be screened by NYPD at all 13 designated entry points along the parade route, with access beginning at 2 a.m.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called this year's deployment one of the department's largest of the year — bigger than New Year's Eve in Times Square or July 4th, according to past comparisons.
Organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, the event is considered the largest Caribbean cultural festival in North America, attracting more than a million participants and spectators.
The West Indian Day Parade — officially the New York Carnival — returns to Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn today for its 59th anniversary, following the earlier J'Ouvert celebration.
Incident reported at Eastern Pkwy & Kingston Ave.
Stay up-to-date
Download CitizenRadio Clips
Show all 15 radio clips
Comments30
May the day be filled with Lots of Love.... Peace, Good Food, Good Music.... keep the Violence Away 🙏🏼
630 am 3 stabbing already that ain't no parade
The most dangerous of parades every year something happens there
Be safe my fellow black American and West Indian people
May the day be filled with Lots of Love.... Peace, Good Food, Good Music.... keep the Violence Away 🙏🏼
630 am 3 stabbing already that ain't no parade
The most dangerous of parades every year something happens there
Be safe my fellow black American and West Indian people
May the day be filled with Lots of Love.... Peace, Good Food, Good Music.... keep the Violence Away 🙏🏼
630 am 3 stabbing already that ain't no parade
The most dangerous of parades every year something happens there
Be safe my fellow black American and West Indian people
May the day be filled with Lots of Love.... Peace, Good Food, Good Music.... keep the Violence Away 🙏🏼
630 am 3 stabbing already that ain't no parade
The most dangerous of parades every year something happens there
Be safe my fellow black American and West Indian people
Stay informed on local incidents
Download Citizen
May the day be filled with Lots of Love.... Peace, Good Food, Good Music.... keep the Violence Away 🙏🏼
630 am 3 stabbing already that ain't no parade
The most dangerous of parades every year something happens there
Be safe my fellow black American and West Indian people