Politicians steer $40,000 in tax dollars to violence-prone J’Overt festival
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People of West Indian decent celebrate J'Overt celebrations along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn covered in paint and baby powder on Sept. 7. Photo: Stephen Yang
City pols have steered more than $40,000 in taxpayer money to the nonprofit behind the violence-prone, predawn festival in Brooklyn where an aide to Gov. Cuomo was shot in the head, The Post has learned.
But the money has never been properly allocated toward security — and the J’Ouvert event has turned into such a magnet for mayhem that the only solution is to shut it down, said a former official with the group.
“Everything about the event is wrong. It’s become dangerous now,” said Hazel John, a founding member of J’Ouvert City International, who was ousted last year in a dispute with other board members over security concerns.
City Council records show that J’Ouvert City scored $42,000 in taxpayer cash through pork-barrel funding earmarked by Democratic Brooklyn pols in four of the past five city budgets. Councilman Jumaane Williams and Councilman Mathieu Eugene both arranged three grants each, totaling $17,000 and $13,000, respectively.
Public Advocate Letitia James arranged two grants totaling $7,000 while she served on the council, and Councilwoman Darlene Mealy arranged one grant for $5,000.
Teshmaya Gay, whose surrogate mom, Denise Gay, was killed by a stray bullet while sitting on her stoop following the 2011 West Indian Day Parade, said that “J’Ouvert went from a night carnival to just pure madness.”
In a statement with two other council members, Williams pointed out how safe the parade was this year, adding that he was “deeply saddened” by the J’Ouvert-related violence.
Cuomo’s first deputy counsel, Carey Gabay, and three others were shot and two people were stabbed, one fatally amid the fest.
“Statistically speaking, last year’s West Indian American Carnival celebration was the safest in recent history, and early reports indicate that this year’s was even safer — but statistics are of little comfort to the friends and families of those whose loved ones were hurt in the weekend’s senseless violence,” said the statement from Williams, Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson (D-Bronx) and Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo (D-Brooklyn).
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams announced he was planning “an emergency meeting of key stakeholders, including law enforcement and J’Ouvert organizers, to review the celebrations as currently constituted and determine the best course of action for next year.”
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton on Tuesday said J’Ouvert and the West Indian American Day Parade “has been and continues to be probably the most problematic event in the city.”
“But that community, that political leadership, are not going to basically stop those celebrations. That’s quite clear. If you think that’s going to happen, you’re out of your mind,” Bratton said.
J’Ouvert City co-founder John said she repeatedly urged the group to hire a professional security firm to oversee the Brooklyn event but “was always told that the funding wasn’t there.”
“The last time I remember . . . hiring security goes back about six or seven years,” she said. “People who loved the culture would volunteer to be security guards. We would use a little money to produce T-shirts with the word ‘Security’ on it and they would go out on patrol for eight hours.”
A phone number tied to J’Ouvert City President Danville Williamson was no longer his, and the group’s vice president, Yvette Rennie, didn’t return phone and e-mail messages.
Asked about his support for J’ouvert City, Williams said: “What do people say about [gun violence] on the weekends [when] there’s no parade?”
A spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio said, “It is a great event for Brooklyn, New York City and our residents of West Indian heritage.”
Additional reporting by Dana Sauchelli and Reuven Fenton
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