West Indian Day Parade kicks off

Throngs of revelers flocked to Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway for New York’s annual West Indian Day parade.
Crowds of participants and onlookers gathered for the parade’s start. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is marching, as are all the major candidates seeking to succeed him. So are Democratic comptroller hopefuls Scott Stringer and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
While the mood was generally festive, the festivities were dampened by the shooting death of a one-year-old Brooklyn boy in his stroller.
The parade, which celebrates Caribbean culture, is one of the biggest and most anticipated public events held in New York City.