Festive climate at Brooklyn’s West Indian Day Parade
It was Brooklyn’s version of Main Street USA. People waved flags from their front stoops, drumbeats filled the air and women in brightly colored sequined costumes and feather headdresses danced to reggae music as they marched Monday in the West Indian Day Parade.
The festive climate prevailed a year after violence marred the annual celebration, which celebrates the culture of the Caribbean islands and is one of the city’s largest outdoor events.
In 2011, a bystander was killed by a stray bullet hours after the parade when police fired on an armed suspect.