By Tangerine Clarke
As New York City contends with
a concerning uptick in COVID-19
cases, driven by the Delta variant,
Brooklyn Borough President, Eric
Adams announced a partnership with
NYC Test & Trace Corps Executive
Director, Dr. Ted Long, to bring a
mobile vaccine van to Brooklyn Borough
Hall each Wednesday from Aug.
11 to Aug. 25.
This new mobile vaccine van helps
to meet people where they are, and
we’re proud to host them here at
Brooklyn Borough Hall. We thank Dr.
Long, and the NYC Test & Trace
Corps for their extraordinary efforts
during this pandemic, and for their
partnership,” said Brooklyn Borough
President Eric Adams.
The vaccine van will offer free
shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine
outside of Borough Hall each
Wednesday between 8:00 am to 6:00
pm. No appointment is needed, and
anyone aged 12 or older is eligible to
get a shot. Any form of identification
will be accepted, including a national
passport or consular ID.
The politician said data from the
New York City Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) shows
that the Delta variant now accounts
for 83 percent of all positive COVID-
19 samples studied, up from 72 percent
in the previous report.
As of the most recent data, the
seven-day average citywide infection
rate has risen to 3.28 percent, up
from 2.29 percent on July 22.
Borough President Adams and Dr.
Long stressed that the best way to
protect yourself and your loved ones
from a serious case of COVID-19,
including the new variant, is to get
vaccinated. 61.2 percent of New Yorkers
have received at least one dose of
the vaccine, according to the most
recent data from DOHMH.
Caribbean L 20 ife, AUGUST 13-19, 2021
By Nelson A. King
Vincentians and other Caribbean
nationals Saturday evening paid their
last respect to Vincentian Cultural
Ambassador, Winston Soso, renowned
as “the Rolls Royce of Calypso,” during
a funeral service at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal
Church on Hawthorne Street in
Brooklyn.
Soso — whose real name was Trevor
Lockhart — died on July 18 at State
University of New York (SUNY) Downstate
Medical Center and University
Hospital of Brooklyn.
His son, Evan Lockhart, told Caribbean
Life that Soso, the former lead
singer of the defunct top Vincentian
band Clymax, died of multiple medical
complications. He went to the Great
Beyond a few days after his 69th birthday
. In an impromptu reunion, some
former members of Clymax paid tribute
to Soso musically and in speeches in
the two-hour-long service.
Other tributes were paid by, among
others, pre-eminent Vincentian calypsonian
Alston “Becket” Cyprus, known
as “the ABC of Calypso,” and calypsonian
Cyril “Scorcher” Thomas — both
also Vincentian cultural ambassadors
– who, in 1986, along with calypsonians
Cauldric Forbes and the late Walter
Porter, formed the St. Vincent and the
Grenadines Entertainers Guild of North
America.
Scorcher, a former St. Vincent and
the Grenadines’ Deputy Consul General
to the United States, said the defunct
group was dedicated to fostering “the
musical aspirations of young Vincentian
artistes here in the Diaspora.”
Tributes were also paid by Brooklyn
based, Vincentian musical arranger
Adrian Bailey — who, along with Allan
“Tom” Doyle, owner of San Souci Studio
in Brooklyn, and retired Registered
Nurse Laverne Munro — had established
a GoFundMe to help defray medical
costs for Soso during his long period
of illness.
In addition, Vincentian sports
ambassador Stanley “Luxie” Morris —
a former national football (soccer) captain,
who played under Soso’s captaincy,
when he was a goal keeper for the
local Vincentian club Avenues United
and the national team in the late 1960s
and early 1970s – paid homage to the
cultural and sports icon.
Wayne Grant, representing the St.
Vincent and the Grenadines Football
Federation, and Olson Dallaway, Consul
at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Consulate General in midtown Manhattan,
were among others who offered
tributes.
Becket’s tribute was read by Gary
Palmer, a trumpeter, who, along with
Soso, were also lead vocalists with Clymax.
Image of Winston Soso posted next to his casket. Photo by Nelson A. King
“Due to circumstances beyond my
control, I am unable to be with you
in person today to celebrate the life of
our musical brother Winston Soso,”
Becket said. “My heartfelt sympathy
goes out to the family, friends and fans
of Winston, especially his children; his
mother Melvina Edwards; ex-wife Petra;
girlfriend Marva; Clymax band; all Vincies
everywhere; and members of the
calypso and Caribbean musicians’ fraternities.
“May the Great God Almighty bless
the soul of Winston Soso, ‘the Rolls
Royce’, and let him rest in eternal
peace,” he added.
Scorcher, also an erstwhile national
goalkeeper in soccer in St. Vincent and
the Grenadines, said he, Becket and
Soso had “travelled far and wide”, and
that Soso’s name “will live on forever.”
Morris, a former captain and manager
of Team SVG in the Brooklyn-based
Caribbean Soccer Cup, described Soso
as “a very dear and personal friend”, and
that Soso was “one of the best custodians
(goal keepers in soccer) bar none.
“With Soso between the sticks, our
goal was a fortress,” he said.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric
Adams.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
Vincentians pay last respect
to ‘Rolls Royce of Calypso’
Mobile
vaccine clinic
at Boro Hall
Winston Soso’s children, from left, Renson Haynes, Evan Lockhart and
Shanell Lockhart, in front pew. Photo by Nelson A. King