Changes Coming To Brooklyn's Annual J'Ouvert Celebration In Wake Of Violence
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City officials have shifted the start of the annual festival celebrating Caribbean culture held before dawn each Labor Day on the streets of Brooklyn and are taking other security precautions in an effort to stem violence.
J'ouvert usually begins at 4 a.m. but will start this year at 6 a.m. Revelers will have to pass through metal detectors, and no alcohol or backpacks will be allowed. There will be frozen zones and 12 checkpoints.
"The NYPD will be out in force with a zero tolerance attitude towards anything that might endanger other people," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Police said the precautions are similar to security during New Year's Eve in Times Square.
"We respect people of all background, we respect all faiths, we respect all cultures. At the same time, we have a sacred responsibility to keep everyone safe," de Blasio said. "We believe this plan developed with community leaders and community members strikes the right balance."
In 2015, lawyer Carey Gabay, who had worked for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and was deputy counsel of the state's economic development agency, was shot in the head.
Police stepped up security last year, but three people were still shot, two fatally.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
