The calypso king of the world (the Mighty Sparrow/Slinger Francisco), who was born on the island of Grenada -but lived most of his adult life in Trinidad and Tobago- opened up a famous calypso of his, with this line: “Let me tell you something, about Labor Day in Brooklyn”. That’s exactly how I start this column; by telling you something big that happened on Labor Day in Brooklyn.

Since 1967, the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (W.I.A.D.C.A.) has been holding Labor Day parades (millions strong) in New York City. One of their big events lately, is the breakfast ceremony - usually held under a large tent, in a park off Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn. Politicians from every corner come to this event. In the past there have been appearances from Senators Clinton and Schumer; former governors like Pataki and Cuomo; mayors like Bloomberg, Koch and Dinkins; and electeds at all levels of the political ladder. Even wannabee electeds show up for media exposure, networking, advertising purposes, photo-ops and the like. It’s the political place to be on the morning of Labor Day.

I doubt that the current borough president of Brooklyn (Marty Markowitz) has ever missed one of these breakfasts, since he was first elected to office (senate) almost 30 years ago. Marty loves Caribs, and they in turn are reciprocal (for the most part). He loves to tell anyone within earshot, that Caribs elected him to the boro prez position. He even made a light-skinned black Jamaican-born woman his deputy borough president; her name is Yvonne Graham. She is attractive, bright, articulate and qualified. She is also a health-expert. She is a damn good candidate for any office. And I don’t just say this because I am Caribbean-American like she is. As much as I am a Carib, I try to be objective about these things.