A spokesman for the Brooklyn DA says the office will investigate NYPD officers who may be linked to a Facebook group complaining about having to work the West Indian-American Day Carnival. The group called itself "No More West Indian Day Detail," and said it was intended for "NYPD officers who are threatened by superiors and forced to be victims themselves by the violence of the West Indian Day massacre." Printed out, the messages added up to 70 pages with comments such as "Let them kill each other," which was made by someone whose name matched an NYPD officer. more ›

Four NYPD officers have been hit with disciplinary action after tossing a football around with a boy on the Fourth of July in 2010. Instead of ticketing cyclists, investigating a call for "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza," or violently slamming their groins against scantily clad women, the officers made the mistake of throwing a football with a young boy at the Webster Houses in the Bronx. "I don't think throwing a football to a 7-year-old boy is misconduct," 17-year-veteran Catherine Guzman naively told the Daily News. "It was the Fourth of July, it was 96 degrees out and we were interacting with the community." Pardon us, but vigilance doesn't drop when the mercury rises! more ›

9/11 Memorial Museum planners take notice: people get pissed when there is a barrier to peeing. 31-year-old Brooklyn barber Nicholas Curtis learned this lesson after a group of disgruntled, cross-legged revelers from the West Indian Day Parade descended upon his shop. After allowing folks to pee freely all day, they began instituting a $1 fee to use the bathroom after the toilet became clogged, as a "nuisance tax." But it became more of a nuisance for Curtis and friends when a group of women who refused the tax came back with some male muscle. "We're tussling with them. I was just hitting," Curtis tells the Times. But he was actually hitting a woman with a wig: "My hand tangled in her hair and it fell off." 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 ›

During an intense shootout in Crown Heights Monday night that left two dead, police fired 73 bullets in their attempts to subdue gunman Leroy Webster, who shot and killed Eusi Johnson and injured two police officers. Authorities say that Webster also killed innocent bystander Denise Gay as she sat on her stoop with her daughter, but the Times reports that "a ballistics analysis had yet to conclude where the bullet came from." Gay's cousin tells the paper, "She was well known on this block. You could say her name and people know exactly who she is, what she stood for. She was an awesome person, with an awesome spirit." Gay, who told others she was afraid for her safety, died in her daughter's arms after being shot in the head. more ›

An innocent bystander who was shot and killed on her stoop in Crown Heights feared gun violence at the West Indian Day parade. 56-year-old Denise Gay was shot in the head by a stray bullet fired by gunman Leroy Webster, who also shot and killed Eusi Johnson after a dispute. Webster, who also shot two police officers in a massive firefight on Franklin Avenue at Park Place, remains in critical condition, and did not die as was originally reported. "She was afraid to go outside because of the parade," Gay's sister tells the Daily News, "Denise was always worried about gun violence." Gay reportedly collapsed into her daughter's arms after being shot. "She thought her mother tripped. Her mother died in her arms," Gay's sister said. more ›

Here's video of yesterday's seemingly stupid arrest of City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) and Kirsten John Foy, Public Advocate de Blasio's Community Affairs Director, after the West Indian Day Parade. Williams, Foy, and others were attempting to take a shortcut to exit the parade so they could make an appearance at a gathering by the Brooklyn Museum. But the NYPD had different plans for them. Here's video: more ›

City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) and Kirsten Foy, Public Advocate de Blasio's Community Affairs Director, were arrested this afternoon after the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn. NBC New York reports that based on witness accounts, "the confusion began when Williams and...Foy...attempted to exit the parade route to attend a luncheon at the Brooklyn Museum. After passing through an initial police checkpoint, Williams and his group were blocked by three police officers from exiting the route." more ›

While yesterday's West Indian Day Parade inspired music and celebration from an estimated 3 million revelers, it also brought out some latent race issues Senator Eric Adams has been holding in. During his speech at the parade yesterday, he praised Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, whom he called "one-third of the power in the baddest state in the baddest country on the baddest planet." He also accused the New York Times and Albany of racism: more ›

Yesterday, 43rd Annual West Indian American Carnival brought out millions (over two million, according to MyFoxNY) to celebrate Caribbean culture in Brooklyn. Performers showed off colorful costumes and got people dancing with music. One performer explained to NY1, "Just having one peace and one heart. It’s just uniting as one. That's what it is." more ›

Three men beaten by riot cops during 2005's West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn will receive $440,000 between them. O'Neil Bonner, Andre Essor and Sylvester Craig were in the vicinity of Church Avenue in the early hours of September 5, 2005 when NYPD officers showed up after reports of gunfire in the area. The lawsuit charged that they began swinging their batons at bystanders, and injured the three men. 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 ›

An all-night barbeque held by friends leading up to today's West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn turned deadly when shots rang out early this morning and two men were left dead, a third wounded. 25-year-old Marvin Brown and 26-year-old David Harris were fatally shot while hanging out at the party on Chester Street in Brownsville. Brown was shot in the head and killed instantly when the incident took place around 5:45 a.m. Another man was wounded after being shot in the leg and a fourth punched in the face. A woman at the bbq told the News, "The vibe was cool - everybody knows everybody. Everybody's talking and laughing. It was family and friends, and I guess it just got a little out of hand." Friends and family say that there's no way Brown, who had just finished training to be an ambulance driver, could have been the intended target. One buddy said, "There's nothing you couldn't not like about him." more ›

Tens of thousands of colorfully costumed revelers partied down on Eastern Parkway from Crown Heights to Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn yesterday for the annual West Indian American Day Parade with millions of people lining the street. more ›

Tomorrow is the annual West Indian American Day Carnival and Parade, which goes from Eastern Parkway and Utica Ave. to Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. The parade, which attracts millions of people, features floats, dancers and bands that celebrate the cultures of the Caribbean. The festivities are all day--here's a little history about the parade--and expect to see politicians there (last year, Mayor Bloomberg joked he could be considered West Indian because he spends so much time in Bermuda). more ›