Trinidadians hold independence jam in Queens after NYPD cancels Brooklyn parade
Organisers said the September 12 "Last Lap Jam" drew a good crowd, while a Brooklyn pastor warned the cancellation could divide Caribbean communities.
NEW YORK, United States. Organisers of New York's inaugural Trinidad and Tobago independence parade say they are pleased with the "parade of sorts" they held after the NYPD cancelled the original event.
The parade had been scheduled for August 30, starting at Church Avenue and Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn, but the NYPD cancelled it, citing safety concerns.
Instead, Trinidadians gathered on September 12 for a "Last Lap Jam" at World Resorts New York on Rockaway Boulevard in Queens.
"I believe it came out successful," organiser Tiffany LaPierre, who worked with Juju and Terry, told Caribbean Life on Friday, September 18. "It was a good crowd, with just six days of promotion. It was to celebrate our independence, and we got our day back."
Soca on stage
The event, which ran from noon to 7pm, featured soca artists including Denise Belfon, Anselm Douglas, Natasha Wilson and Taller Dan, as well as moko jumbies, ole mas and steel orchestras including Black Love.
New York State Assemblywoman Monique Chandler-Waterman, the daughter of Barbadian and Jamaican immigrants, said she wanted to "big up" Trinidad and Tobago. "I wanted to make sure I recognise the home of the steel pan," she said.
Pastor warns of division
Pastor Louis Straker Jr., lead pastor of Reflections Church in Brooklyn and son of a Trinidadian mother and a Vincentian father, said he was "torn" by the cancellation, though not because he thought the parade should have gone ahead.
He said the NYPD denied the permit over concerns about the route and traffic management. He noted that the NYPD had expected 2,000 to 3,000 people at the recent Jamaican parade, but some estimates put the crowd at more than 10,000.
"My views regarding the proliferation of individual Caribbean island parades, remain unchanged," he said, adding that such events could not keep expanding along the narrow corridors of Flatbush and Church Avenues.
But he warned the decision could create division. "If Jamaica can have its parade, why can't Trinidad and Tobago?" he asked. "If we are not careful, this can create unnecessary tension between two of the most prominent Caribbean communities in the Brooklyn Diaspora."
