Protect Pan in Motion's Panyard 2026 New York Panorama Season
The Issue
For more than 60 years, Brooklyn’s panyards have been spaces where Caribbean culture is not simply celebrated, but practiced, taught, and passed down.
Every summer, steel orchestras across Brooklyn prepare for the annual WIADCA New York Panorama Competition, one of the signature events of New York City’s West Indian American Day Carnival. For Pan in Motion, that preparation happens at our seasonal panyard at 998 Union Street in Brooklyn.
Today, our ability to continue rehearsing there is being threatened.
Despite Pan in Motion having permission to use the space and making every effort to rehearse within applicable NYC noise regulations and permitted hours, repeated complaints from outspoken neighbors who lack awareness of the cultural impact of these practices and spaces are threatening our ability to practice. Their efforts include calls to law enforcement, excessive outreach to school/education officials, and even government officials seeking to restrict the band's use of the school yard. A steel orchestra of nearly 100 members cannot simply relocate to an apartment, classroom, or small rehearsal studio. Panyards are essential cultural spaces. They are where children learn alongside veteran musicians, families gather, instruments are prepared, and generations pass down an art form born in Trinidad and Tobago that has become inseparable from Brooklyn’s cultural identity.
Pan in Motion has proudly represented Brooklyn and the Caribbean diaspora on some of New York City’s most visible stages, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Brooklyn Museum, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s 2026 State of the Borough Address. Brooklyn proudly celebrates Caribbean culture on Labor Day weekend. Our music fills Eastern Parkway. Our elected officials attend our festivities. Our culture is welcomed at museums, schools, civic events, Borough Hall, and City Hall.
As Brooklyn’s neighborhoods continue to change, longtime cultural traditions should not be pushed out. Community growth and cultural preservation can coexist, and Pan in Motion is committed to being a responsible neighbor while protecting the space necessary to continue this tradition.
Sign this petition to stand with Pan in Motion and Brooklyn’s steelpan community. Help us protect our ability to complete the 2026 Panorama season at 998 Union Street and preserve the cultural spaces that make Brooklyn, BROOKLYN.
We are not asking to play whenever we want. We are asking for the opportunity to complete our short Panorama season while continuing to work responsibly with our surrounding community.
Protect the panyard. Protect Panorama. Protect Brooklyn’s Caribbean culture.
Great is the PIM. 💙💛🥁
2,021
The Issue
For more than 60 years, Brooklyn’s panyards have been spaces where Caribbean culture is not simply celebrated, but practiced, taught, and passed down.
Every summer, steel orchestras across Brooklyn prepare for the annual WIADCA New York Panorama Competition, one of the signature events of New York City’s West Indian American Day Carnival. For Pan in Motion, that preparation happens at our seasonal panyard at 998 Union Street in Brooklyn.
Today, our ability to continue rehearsing there is being threatened.
Despite Pan in Motion having permission to use the space and making every effort to rehearse within applicable NYC noise regulations and permitted hours, repeated complaints from outspoken neighbors who lack awareness of the cultural impact of these practices and spaces are threatening our ability to practice. Their efforts include calls to law enforcement, excessive outreach to school/education officials, and even government officials seeking to restrict the band's use of the school yard. A steel orchestra of nearly 100 members cannot simply relocate to an apartment, classroom, or small rehearsal studio. Panyards are essential cultural spaces. They are where children learn alongside veteran musicians, families gather, instruments are prepared, and generations pass down an art form born in Trinidad and Tobago that has become inseparable from Brooklyn’s cultural identity.
Pan in Motion has proudly represented Brooklyn and the Caribbean diaspora on some of New York City’s most visible stages, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Brooklyn Museum, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s 2026 State of the Borough Address. Brooklyn proudly celebrates Caribbean culture on Labor Day weekend. Our music fills Eastern Parkway. Our elected officials attend our festivities. Our culture is welcomed at museums, schools, civic events, Borough Hall, and City Hall.
As Brooklyn’s neighborhoods continue to change, longtime cultural traditions should not be pushed out. Community growth and cultural preservation can coexist, and Pan in Motion is committed to being a responsible neighbor while protecting the space necessary to continue this tradition.
Sign this petition to stand with Pan in Motion and Brooklyn’s steelpan community. Help us protect our ability to complete the 2026 Panorama season at 998 Union Street and preserve the cultural spaces that make Brooklyn, BROOKLYN.
We are not asking to play whenever we want. We are asking for the opportunity to complete our short Panorama season while continuing to work responsibly with our surrounding community.
Protect the panyard. Protect Panorama. Protect Brooklyn’s Caribbean culture.
Great is the PIM. 💙💛🥁
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Petition created on August 19, 2026