NYPD lays out safety precautions for annual J'Ouvert celebration in Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- Labor Day weekend signals the end of summer, but it also brings the return of J'Ouvert and the West Indian American Day Parade.
The NYPD held a news conference on Thursday afternoon to outline the security measures that will be in place.
"Our uniform officers will be on foot post, out on patrol and working day and night to protect residents and revelers alike," Commissioner Edward Caban said.
The department's top cop spoke alongside representatives from multiple city agencies about safety at the upcoming celebration and parade.
"We'll apply the law when we have to. We will give people breaks. We will be compassionate. We'll make arrests if we have to. Firm but fair. We want everyone to have a celebratory weekend, with the least amount of enforcement," Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
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Police say last year was the safest parade on record, with 27 guns recovered during the four-day period. This year, 250 violence interrupters from the city's crisis management team will also be patrolling, and drones will be used, too.
"The drones are going to be responding to non-priority calls and priority calls. For example, any 311 calls on our non-emergency line, where a caller says there's a large party, large crowd in backyards, we're going to utilizing our assets to go up, to go check on the party," an NYPD official said.
J'Ouvert will be from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday and the parade, showcasing Caribbean history, culture, music and food, will follow.
"We have multiple light towers throughout locations that we think is important," Chell said.
The NYPD said closures will begin at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. There will be 13 entry points into the parade and all attendees will be subject to a search.
"For anyone who thinks they're going to come into this community this weekend with bad intentions, we all here stand together and say not this weekend nor any other weekend," Chell said.
The NYPD said it will have thousands of officers both in plainclothes and in uniform along the parade route, and at all the events leading up to the parade, beginning Thursday night.