RICHMOND HILL, NEW YORK, March 21, 2011: Organizers of a Hindu Parade in Richmond Hill say the NYPD confiscated the ceremonial colored powder.
Pandit Ramlill, one of the organizers of the Festival of Colors in Queens, said in the 23 years of the parade’s history, he and other organizers have never been so offended. “We exchange colored powder as a sign of Spring, friendship, and love every year — the N.Y.P.D. took it away for no reason,” said Ramlill.
The NYPD told PIX11 News that officers acted appropriately and were responding to numerous complaints that participants were throwing the colored powder on the street, not the designated park areas.