Soon after the NYPD confirmed it was launching an investigation into NYPD officers caught on video "daggering" dancers during the West Indian-American Day Carnival, Commissioner Ray Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg downplayed the incident. At a press conference yesterday, Kelly acknowledged that the behavior was regrettable, but also pointed out that it's not like the officers forced themselves on the women. "I would prefer that it not have happened," Kelly told reporters. "But I don’t want to make too much of it. You know, these young women approached the officers. They didn’t go out of their way to be approached like this." more ›

Although many Gothamist commenters don't see any harm in the "daggering" cops' conduct at the West Indian-American Day Carnival, it seems the NYPD thinks otherwise. Yesterday morning, before we first published this video, we contacted the NYPD's DCPI office (DCPI stands for Deputy Commissioner, Public Information). We asked if the officers' behavior violated any departmental guidelines, and got no response. more ›

Some may remember this month's West Indian-American Day Carnival for the gunfire, others for the delicious food and festive costumes. After watching this video, we'll probably associate it with cops grinding and bumping up against scantily-clad revelers' backsides. Don't miss the 1:06 minute mark, when an eager young police officer really gets down with the "daggering": more ›

Asked yesterday about the recent arrest of a City Councilman and a top aide to NYC's Public Advocate, Mayor Bloomberg tore a page from President Obama's playbook and urged the two sides to work it out over a beer. "The police have a job to do and the city councilman has a job to do, and hopefully, every once in a while, if there’s a misunderstanding, they have a beer together and work it out," Bloomberg told reporters yesterday. Unfortunately, Councilman Jumaane Williams doesn't drink—not even if Bloomberg fixes him one of his fancy Beers-on-the-Rocks! more ›

Today is the West Indian American Day Carnival's 43rd annual parade. The colorful parade, estimated to be the city's largest with 3 million revelers, heads down Eastern Parkway, from Utica Avenue to Flatbush Avenue, and features costume bands, masqueraders, moko jumbies (stilt walkers!), floats and many more sights—and delicious foods. The parade began at 11 a.m. and festivities continue on till 6 p.m. more ›

Elaborate, colorful, and sometimes skimpy costumed celebrants strutted their stuff during the 42nd Annual West Indian American Carnival yesterday. The parade, which celebrates Caribbean culture, is the city's biggest parade, attracting millions to Eastern Parkway. One paradegoer told NY1, "It's very lively and it's very colorful. Multi-cultural, what can I say, it's people all over the world. Everybody gets together and just embraces each other," while one dancer explained to the Daily News, "We wine and we gyrate to the pulsating music. You're getting loose, you're feeling no hangups, nothing, no inhibitions. It's just about having a good time." more ›

Today is the 42nd annual West Indian American Day Carnival in Brooklyn, celebrating the cultures of the Caribbean. The colorful parade, estimated to be the city's largest with 3 million revelers, heads down Eastern Parkway, from Utica Avenue to Flatbush Avenue, and features costume bands, masqueraders, moko jumbies (stilt walkers!), floats and many more sights. The parade started at 8 a.m. and will go until 6 p.m., so you'll have plenty of opportunity to check it out. more ›