By Daniel Massey
A controversial plan by police at the 106th Precinct to move the Phagwah parade from its traditional home on Liberty Avenue a few blocks north to Atlantic Avenue was shelved last week after parade organizers told police they would scale back the popular Hindu celebration.
Three leaders of the Richmond Hill Hindu community met with officials from the neighboring 102nd Precinct last Thursday and agreed to drastically reduce the number of floats in the parade from around 55 to one in exchange for getting their route back.
Police from the 106th Precinct had said the parade had become a safety concern because it was getting too large for Liberty Avenue. Launched 13 years ago as a small gathering of about 100 people, it has grown to an event that attracts thousands each March and is particularly popular among the borough’s Indo-Guyanese population.
Police had hoped to move the March 30 festival from Liberty Avenue, which falls within the106th Precinct, to the wider Atlantic Avenue, within the confines of the 102nd Precinct, to accommodate the large number of floats.
The plan to move the parade rankled organizers.
Being asked to alter the course was “a stab in our heart,” Pandit Chandrica, president of the Richmond Hill-based Federation of Hindu Mandirs, told a community Board 9 meeting last week. “The route on Liberty is the Phagwah parade.”
Liberty Avenue, known as “Little Guyana,” is the heart of the borough’s Indo-Guyanese community. Indo-Guyanese merchants line Liberty Avenue and look forward to the extra traffic the parade brings in, organizers said. Many Indo-Guyanese also live right off Liberty Avenue and step out of their homes to participate in the parade.
“They live there and it’s easy for them to join in the parade,” Chandrica said.
After Community Board 9 Chairman Paul Sapienza said the board had no control over the parade route, board member Vishnu Mahadeo encouraged organizers to reach out to the 102nd Precinct.
Along with fellow parade organizers Pandit Ramrattan and Latchman Budhai, Chandrica agreed to compromise on the number of floats during a meeting with Chief Thomas Lawless, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, Captain Thomas Cea, commanding officer of the 102nd Precinct, and Rudy Toolas-Prashad, community affairs officer of the 102nd Precinct.
Toolas-Prashad said Lawless and Cea were instrumental in working out the agreement.
Organizers had previously acceded to a police request to ban powder from the parade due to fears it might be confused with anthrax. Revelers typically cover each other with colorful powder in a ritual that simultaneously recalls the triumph of good over evil and the diversity of mankind.
Phagwah marks the coming of spring. It is linked to several legends, including one where a prince is saved from fire by divine intervention. The festival celebrates the destruction of evil and the triumph of goodness.
For Richmond Hill’s Hindus, many of whom come from Guyana, the holiday also provides an opportunity to affirm their roots in an adopted homeland.
“We’re able to meet together and do our celebration and sustain our tradition, our heritage, our culture, the legacy of our great great grandparents,” said Chandrica. “It’s important for us.”
Reach reporter Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
