There’s a new plan to curb the violence at the J’Ouvert Festival. It draws thousands every year, a celebration of Caribbean culture, but has been marred by bloodshed and murder. Marc Santia reports.
The annual West Indian Day Parade, one of the most colorful festivals in the city, steps off Monday, and officials announced street closures ahead of the big show and the pre-dawn party that precedes it.
West Indian American Day Parade
The following streets will be closed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday for the West Indian American Day Parade and festival:
Buffalo Avenue between Eastern Parkway and Rutland Road
Rochester Avenue between East New York and Sterling Place
Ralph Avenue between Eastern Parkway and East New York Avenue
East New York Avenue between Howard Avenue and Utica Avenue
Eastern Parkway between Howard Avenue and Grand Army Plaza
Flatbush Avenue between Grand Army Plaza and Caton Avenue
Ocean Avenue between Empire Boulevard and Parkside Avenue
Butler Place between Grand Army Plaza and Sterling Place
St Johns Place between Underhill Avenue and Grand Army Plaza
Rockaway Parkway between East New York Avenue and Rutland Road
Parkside Avenue between Park Circle and Flatbush Avenue
Bedford Avenue between Eastern Parkway and Empire Boulevard
Empire Boulevard between Flatbush Avenue and Nostrand Avenue
Nostrand Avenue between Empire Boulevard and Linden Boulevard
Lincoln Place between Eastern Parkway and East New York Avenue
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Mayor Bill de Blasio, center, shakes hands with spectators as he makes his way along Eastern Parkway in the Brooklyn borough of New York during the West Indian Day Parade Monday Sept. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Mayor Bill de Blasio, foreground, makes his way along Eastern Parkway in the Brooklyn borough of New York as he takes part in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Costumed participants dance as they make their way along Eastern Parkway in the Brooklyn borough of New York during the West Indian Day Parade, Monday Sept. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Costumed participants dance as they make their way along Eastern Parkway in the Brooklyn borough of New York during the West Indian Day Parade, Monday Sept. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Ethan Dawson, 6, center, holds the Barbados flag as he sits on the shoulders of his grandfather Willy Dawson as they and others watch the West Indian Day Parade as it makes its way along Eastern Parkway in the Brooklyn borough of New York Monday, Sept. 7, 2015. The Dawson's are from Toronto, Canada. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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New York City Police officers stand on the scene of a fatal stabbing, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York as participants in the West Indian Day Parade pass behind them. Earlier in the day a man was stabbed to death at the location. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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A group of spectators stand on a bench and wave as they watch the West Indian Day Parade make its way along Eastern Parkway in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Monday Sept. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
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Dancers who are members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East participate in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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A dancer with D'Midas International Boston carries a flag from Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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A dancer with D'Midas International Boston carries a flag from Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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A dancer with the group D'Midas International Boston joins in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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A dancer with D'Midas International Boston marches in the West Indian Day Parade past the Brooklyn Museum, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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Dancers from Jamaica pass the Brooklyn Museum in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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Dancers from Grenada join in the West Indian Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
J'Ouvert
The following streets will be closed from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday for Jouvert, the pre-dawn counterpart to the parade:
Formation:
Grand Army Plaza
Eastern Parkway between Washington Avenue and Plaza Street East
Route:
Flatbush Avenue between Grand Army Plaza/East Drive and Empire Boulevard
Empire Boulevard between Flatbush Avenue and Nostrand Avenue
Nostrand Avenue between Empire Boulevard and Midwood Street
Dispersal:
Nostrand Avenue between Midwood Street and Rutland Road
Reviewing Stand:
Empire Boulevard between Mckeever Place and Bedford Avenue
Empire Boulevard between Bedford Avenue and Rogers Avenue
Nostrand Avenue between Sterling Street and Lefferts Avenue
