NYC pols, faith leaders call for ‘unity in face of hate’ at vigil for 10 victims

Faith and community leaders on Monday night packed a Harlem vigil for the 10 victims of a racially-fueled mass shooting in Buffalo, calling for “unity in the face of hate.”

About 100 people attended the ceremony hosted by Mayor Adams at Bethel Gospel Assembly Destiny Worship Pavilion on Fifth Ave. A choir of seven people sang psalms as the names and ages of the victims of the Saturday massacre flashed by on a large screen above the stage.

Before delivering remarks, Adams walked to a podium on stage where faith leaders had earlier placed 10 orange roses in memory of those killed in the massacre. He picked up each rose and placed them upright in a vase as the crowd applauded.

Adams, who arrived late to the vigil because he was at Lincoln Hospital meeting with the parents of an 11-year-old shot in the Bronx, drew direct parallels between the racist shooting in Buffalo and gun violence in the city.

“You are no less demonic than the person who took the lives of those 10 innocent people in Buffalo,” Adams said of the person who fatally shot the innocent Bronx girl. “Pain is pain.”

“I’m focused on my river,” he added. “My river is to stop the flow of guns and violence into our city.”

He also asked people to pray for the family members of the victims of the Buffalo shooting.

“You may not be able to go to Buffalo, but your prayers for the families mean so much for the families,” he said. “I’m asking us all to pray for that 11-year-old baby and all of these children that we are losing. Every night, every night, my phone goes off. Another child shot, every night.”

Among the other speakers were Attorney General Letitia James, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine was among the participants.

“We’ve got to come together to reach out to our family in Buffalo and to embrace them … but we must also discuss and confront some ugly truths,” James said, adding that she has spent the past few days reflecting on the atrocities committed against Black Americans over the course of U.S. history, like slavery and segregation.

“I thought about all of the violence we’ve gone through as a people,” she said.

But she said in addition to mourning, the Buffalo mass shooting must result in action.

“We must demand that we have responsible gun laws in this nation,” she said before also urging a crackdown on hate speech on social media and cable…