NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed on Monday the final design for a memorial honoring the victims of a mass shooting in Buffalo nearly two years ago.
During the ceremony, Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown and the 5/14 Memorial Commission, established following the white supremacist attack at Tops Friendly Market on May 14, 2022, which claimed the lives of 10 Black people, unveiled the final design of a permanent memorial.
“I want all the families to know, we will never leave you to carry this burden alone,” Hochul said. “We are at your side, and we'll also never be defeated by hate. We'll only rise up stronger in the face of it. That's who we are as Buffalonians. That's who we are as New Yorkers.”
The memorial, titled “Seeing Us” and designed by Jin Young Song and Douglass Alligood, honors the victims of the racially motivated shooting. Families of those lost and injured, along with other community stakeholders, were present.
“The second anniversary of the 5/14 Racially Motivated Mass Shooting is just hours away,” Brown said. “It is, and will always be, a somber mark in our city’s history.”
The final design features ten interconnected pillars, each inscribed with the names of victims and survivors and varying in arc and height, faced with stone, according to a press release. It also includes a multifunctional support building for education, exhibitions, and community events, and an elevated Memorial Walk on the building's roof.
Hochul announced an additional $4.1 million in state funding for the memorial's siting, design, and construction, raising the total state investment to $5 million. Following the attack, Hochul had also announced $50 million in targeted investments to meet the community's immediate needs.
Those lost during the mass shooting are Pearl Young, Ruth Whitfield, Margus D. Morrison, Andre Mackniel, Aaron Salter Jr., Geraldine Talley, Katherine Massey, Roberta A. Drury, Heyward Patterson, and Celestine Chaney.
The injured survivors are Zaire Goodman, Jennifer Warrington, and Christopher Braden.