West Indian Day parade celebrates culture and community in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN — Eastern Parkway came alive with bright colors and invigorating music, as New Yorkers displayed their cultural pride during the annual West Indian Day parade on Labor Day. The annual celebration, organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), brings together more than 1 million participants and spectators from across the Caribbean diaspora, the U.S. and other countries. 

Monday’s festivities were marred by a tragic shooting that briefly disrupted the joyous atmosphere. According to police, a gunman opened fire around 2:30 p.m. at 307 Eastern Parkway, near the Franklin Avenue subway station. Denzel A. Chan, 25, of Texas died as a result. Four others, including a 16-year-old boy and a 69-year-old woman, were wounded. 

Despite the violence, which police described as targeted and many point to as the ongoing challenge of ensuring safety at such large-scale events, the daylong parade continued. Most revelers and attendees were unaware of the shooting as they marched on, dancing and singing along the road with the music floats and costumed masqueraders. 

Haitian floats were among those that closed out the day’s festivities as night fell on the Parkway. A rara foot band then led hundreds from Grand Army Plaza toward Parkside Avenue along Flatbush Avenue, their clarions, drums and footsteps thumping under the dark skies. 

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