NEW YORK — Caribbean pride was on display Monday at the 55th annual American West Indian Day Carnival.
CBS2’s Hannah Kliger went to Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn for the festivities.
She was at the end of Eastern Parkway, where she saw tired but happy carnival tourists completing the two-mile journey of the previous parade. It was the event’s first year since the pandemic began, so you can imagine how excited people were.
It was a day to celebrate the Caribbean immigrant community and its contributions to New York City.
“It’s been two years since we marched into the park with music pulsing through our bodies,” said state Attorney General Letitia James.
There were feathers and sparks, drums and steel pants, floats and crowds of dancers. Andre Laveau, Trinidad and Tobago’s consul general, said seeing representation brings him a sense of pride.
“Caribbean people are all about being together and being social and sociable and this is just a celebration of that community that we have,” Leveau said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul made a big announcement Monday morning ahead of the festivities, saying she plans to make a surprise visit to the Caribbean in the near future.
“I am, for the first time, opening a trade office in that part of the world to make sure that our businesses have the opportunity to do business there and vice versa,” Hochul said.
Her opponent in the gubernatorial race, Lee Zeldin, told CBS2 along the parade route that this community, like many others in our city, is concerned about safety.
“There are a lot of first-generation immigrants who are here, and they came here with a dream. Their American dream was their New York dream,” Zeldin said.
Safety was top of mind for many New Yorkers on Monday, due to the violence that had erupted in previous years.
“Last night, when we came out to your police officers, detectives and supervisors, we explained to them that this is a celebration. This is a celebration of pride, heritage, tradition and family, and it’s really our job here to engage. and help in that party,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
Police confirmed that a person was stabbed around 2:00 pm at Eastern Parkway and Nostrand Avenue. The 34-year-old is in hospital in stable condition and police said a 40-year-old man has been arrested.
Otherwise, no other problems have been reported.
