Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a press conference about the city's safety plan for the West Indian Day Parade. The NYPD will deploy specialized police units, drones and barricades along the parade route. [ more › ]
Gothamist · Ben Feuerherd · September 4, 2026
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Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Friday that the NYPD will deploy more police officers this weekend at Brooklyn’s West Indian American Day Carnival than it does at nearly any other event in the city.
The department will follow a security plan similar to those enacted in previous years, Tisch said, noting the department will deploy specialized police units, drones and barricades along the parade route.
But despite these efforts, shootings at the parade have persisted in recent years . A number of the most high-profile violent crimes at the event remain unsolved.
Last year, six people were injured in three separate shootings near the parade route. An NYPD spokesperson said Friday that two of the three shootings remain unsolved.
In 2024, a gunman shot five people along the parade route, including 25-year-old Denzel Chan, who was killed in the shooting. No arrests have been made in that shooting, according to the NYPD.
Solving violent crimes is an important step in preventing more violence from breaking out for a variety of reasons, including deterring other potential criminals, said Thomas Abt, the founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction at the University of Maryland
“If you catch people who are committing violent crimes, other people who are contemplating committing violent crimes may think twice,” Abt said.
Solving such cases could also stop any retaliation from being carried out, and it blocks the opportunity for a suspect to commit more crimes, he added.
On Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined Tisch as well as the first deputy mayor for community safety, Renita Francois, to stress that civilian anti-violence workers, not only the police, will be out in Brooklyn this weekend to help keep the peace.
The community safety plan for the weekend will cover five police precincts and, Mamdani said, noting that the effort began last night with more than 300 workers and volunteers deployed at hot-spot locations along the parade route.
“With the measures we put in place this year, we are confident that every New Yorker will be able to celebrate this parade freely and safely,” Mamdani said.
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected] .
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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