As the 59th annual West Indian American Day Carnival kicked off in Brooklyn, a prominent Caribbean-American leader slammed New York City's decision to shorten the parade schedule. Rickford Burke, president of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy, criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch for mandating an early 5:30 p.m. end time.
City officials enacted the restriction following prior violence, including a fatal shooting in 2024 and three shootings injuring six people in 2025. While Commissioner Tisch announced zero tolerance for violence alongside heavy security, Burke argued the shortened schedule penalizes law-abiding participants without fixing root causes.
