Results tagged “westindianamericandayparade”

West Indian American Day Carnival In Brooklyn Today!

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.

Millions of people flocked to Eastern Parkway to celebrate the West Indian American Day Parade yesterday. This was the 40th year of the parade, which had floats, dancers, and bands interacting with the crowds. Many of the spectators wore or waved flags of native countries and enjoying delicious food.

The police have arrested two men and have charged one in the murder of sanitation worker Damon Allen. Allen, who was in the news last December after catching a 4 year old from a burning building, was killed early Monday morning while leaving a party at 862 Prospect Place, Brooklyn. The police believe the shooting was random, but what's disturbing is that 50 bullets were fired during some sort of altercation. Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said during the West Indian American Day Parade, "Nearly one year ago, Damon Allen was the city's hero for saving the life of a little girl. Today, he lies dead. This is a very sad note to what should be a very joyous occasion. We've just got to stop this kind of violence. It is an outrage."

Yesterday was the West Indian American Day Parade, and it was as festive as ever, especially with the gorgeous weather we had. Politicians were present - and who knew that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Suozzi had lived in Trinidad and Tobago years ago? Newsday reports he sang "Tiney Winey." But most of all, it was the parade marchers, dancers, and perfomers and all the spectators that made the event exciting. The parade was so moving that one tourist from North Carolina told the Daily News, "I love it. Now I want to move here. I love the vibe that is here."

If there's a city parade, you bet it's an opportunity for politicians to get out to press the flesh. And yesterday's West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn was no different, with the primary showdown over the Congressional seat being vacated by Major Owens coming up next week. As it happens, the crowd in the Wyckoff Gardens Houses weren't too happy to hear Mayor Bloomberg and candidate-City Councilman David Yassky announce that $600,000 worth of security cameras would be installed. Someone ended up throwing a frosted doughnut near the Mayor, causing his girlfriend Diana Taylor to take "cover beneath a concrete overhang," as the Times puts it. Which only made the Mayor joke, "Well, just another reason why we need cameras." Newsday reports that another man was loudly murmuring in the back of the crowd, prompting the mayor to say, "If we could have some quiet back there, sir, it would be appreciated, thank you; we can't hear." Of course, the NYPD investigated the tasty treat toss, but came to the conclusion, "Nothing was ascertained with certainty, but there is no indication it was directed at the mayor. It may have just been tossed out the window or dropped."

1

Tips

Get your daily dose of New York first thing in the morning from our weekday newsletter, now in beta.

About Gothamist

Gothamist is a website about New York. More

Editor: Jen Chung
Publisher: Jake Dobkin

Newsmap

newsmap.jpg

Subscribe

Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist.

All Our RSS

Follow us