W. Indian Parade VIPs Getting Frozen Out
25th August 2012
To prevent VIP politicians from entering frozen zones and clashing with cops during the West Indian Day Parade, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday said the NYPD at this year’s parade will bar credentialed officials from entering frozen zones entirely.
“Any government IDs or other status symbols that you want to pull out and say, ‘Hey, I’m a big deal,’ we’re just not going to let that happen,” the mayor said. “We’ve got to let the police do their job free of distractions.”
The move comes in reaction to an incident at last year’s event, where City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) and Kirsten John Foy, a former aide to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, got into a tussle with cops who didn’t realize they had been given permission by a higher-up to enter a frozen zone.
Foy is suing the city, saying he was injured in the encounter.
“The mayor’s missing the forest for the trees,” Foy told The Post. “The real issue was caused out of a lack of respect that is borne out of discriminatory policing practices. The incident last year was not caused by who was allowed into the frozen zones.”
Moral: Don’t be lacking in respect to a VIP like a former aide to a Public Advocate. They can be right down there with high school girls when it comes to being petty and vindictive.
Oh, and be careful not to step in the diversity — you just can’t get that stuff off of your shoes.