This Sunday's Puerto Rican Day parade in Brooklyn will be more than a cultural celebration. As borough reporter Jeanine Ramirez explains, it's also a way to improve police-community relations.

The sounds of bomba and plena music are so infectious that they have members of the NYPD dancing at a warmup for the Sunset Park Puerto Rican Day Parade and Festival, which will take place this Sunday after the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in Manhattan.

Some previous celebrations in Brooklyn have been marred by clashes with police — something organizers have been working to prevent. Dennis Flores is the founder of El Grito de Sunset Park, a neighborhood activist group that has recorded clashes with the police.

"Unfortunately in the past, there were unpermitted parades that happened here,” said Flores, a parade organizer. “But naturally after the Manhattan parade, they come to the neighborhood. They want to continue to celebrate. That brought about unnecessary confrontations with the police."

Last year, Flores’ group got a permit to make the Brooklyn celebration legal, and it's got another one this year: a step organizers see as a way to improve relations with the police. "We want our police officers to meet the community half way, help build a relationship and work together," he said.

Flores says having a new Captain at the 72nd Precinct is promising. Emmauel Gonzalez grew up here and has been meeting with the community weekly.

"We have a new program called the Neighborhood Coordination Officer's program where the police officers are getting more involved with the neighborhood,” he said. “We teach them organizational skills and how to prepare better for the parade."

This year's event is dedicated to Yvonne Cruz, a longtime resident who recently died of cancer. Robin Padro, a local artist, is painting a mural in her image. "I grew up here. So it means a lot to do something in the community," he said.

Actor J.W. Cortes, who's from Sunset Park and stars in TV's Gotham, will be the parade's padrino, or head patron. "Look how far we've come and it's great to be coming back home," he remarked.

Even the classic cars club is revving up. Hector Rodriguez, a parade participant is proud to be a part of it. "This is my hobby. This is my life,” he said. “All my life savings went in there. But this is what I love."

He, like the rest of the parade’s patrons share a love for Puerto Rico and the pueblo of Sunset Park.