“One year, some of the newcomers to the neighborhood were complaining about the noise during J’Ouvert itself,” she recalled, noting that waves of new residents came to the Flatbush area without knowledge of its decades-old cultural rhythms like J’ Ouvert, which originally started at 2 a.m. to keep with Caribbean tradition, has now been moved to 6 a.m., with multiple checkpoints along the way. then, but you also have groups that have their gardens here – and they can train until 2 o’clock in the morning, 3 o’clock in the morning because they’re getting ready for a culminating event, Panorama, where there’s a competition and they can show our full culture.” This year there will be no Panorama, but there will be live steel band concerts and participation in J’Ouvert that will require their rehearsal.
Worrell emphasized that the celebrations are a way for communities to protect their cultural heritage and legacy for future generations. “When you have people calling and saying, well, my baby is sleeping or my dog can’t sleep, and then the police come to interrupt, or say you can’t play anymore, what does that do?” She said, adding that people are already being priced out of the neighborhood.
According to a Brooklyn Rental Market Report by MNS, the median rent increased 25% from July 2021 to 2022 in Flatbush and Crown Heights. “So it’s harder to have a mass camp, it’s harder to have a pot yard, it’s harder to have a backyard kind of lime,” Worrell said. As a result, events, parties and rehearsals are increasingly held in Brooklyn in warehouses to avoid noise complaints.
The cultural and economic network surrounding the parade is subtle but powerful and has reached far beyond Brooklyn, even the borders of New York. “The New York Carnival is where the whole Caribbean meets,” said Teddysohn John, a Soca artist from St. Lucia. “Some of the biggest stages at Carnival are on Labor Day, and as an artist, when you put your songs out in New York, people are exposed to your music for the whole year and then it travels to different places like Miami, Notting. The hill and all the carnivals of the island throughout the year.” John has been performing at Labor Day related events for 15 years and is looking forward to the big return to Eastern Parkway. “As a soca artist, New York is where it starts, it represents the pulse of the people, and as a St. Lucian it’s a privilege for me to be a part of that energy and those vibes on the East Coast.”
