Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Far Rockaway) this past Saturday, August 19th, attended the first-ever Caribbean Carnival Parade, which kicked off at Beach 21st Street in Far Rockaway. The parade was arranged by community leaders and elected officials, led by Senator James Sanders. The event served as local, Rockaway-area lead-in to the West Indian American Day Parade, a long-time event staged in Brooklyn in and around Crown Heights.

“What an incredible time!” said Pheffer Amato. “The colors, the music, the food – and, most importantly, the vibrancy of one of the fastest-growing pieces of New York City’s beautiful tapestry. Caribbean communities, like those in our district, make up a huge swath of our neighborhoods, and we’re all the richer for it. I want to thank Senator Sanders for his organizing and his graciousness in having us all out, and I look forward to many more years of this new tradition!”