Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) - The 5/14 Memorial Commission is nearing a couple of significant announcements to really kick start efforts again toward constructing a long-lasting memorial to honor those killed and wounded in the racially motivated mass shooting at the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue on May 14, 2022.
Chair of the 5/14 Memorial Commission, Rev. Mark Blue, says the commission is currently looking at completing the job description process for an executive director, while also, hopefully relatively soon, announcing plans for the site of where the monument is going to be located.
"Then we'll start more of a capital campaign to raise the needed funds, the rest of the funds that we need in order for the project to go forward," said Blue in an interview with WBEN. "So we're looking at hiring an executive director, and that responsibility will be to help manage the day-to-day, look at more grant opportunities and funding opportunities that that person can do. And also, hopefully relatively soon, we should be able to announce where the site is going to be for the monument."
The site of the 5/14 Memorial is still slated to be in the area of the Tops on Jefferson Avenue in East Buffalo, which Rev. Blue says is going to be key.
"We want to look at not only building community, but also using that as an added resource of education to ensure that these types of events don't happen anymore," he noted. "So we are looking at that mindset to make sure we're doing the right things for the community. And for those who filled out that survey, that survey is very important that we started out with, and we want to continue with that survey to address those concerns that were important for the community."
To this point, the 5/14 Memorial Commission has had $5 million allocated to the project from New York State, with an additional $1 million from the City of Buffalo. The overall cost of the project is expected to be $15 million.
Related
Once the commission announces the site and once the executive director is on board, Rev. Blue believes the funds will continue to come in in a way they thought they would.
"People will not give to something they don't know where it's going to be located. They have the rendering of what it's going to look like, but now we've got to look at the next step in announcing where it's going to be. Once people have that, they can envision exactly where it's going to be, what it's going to look like," Rev. Blue said. "And also some of the programming that we want to have in there that's going to help the community grow, not just the Jefferson community, East Side community, but all of Western New York because this affected all of Western New York. So we're looking direly to make sure that we have these things in place."
"Just for the building of the memorial, it's going to be roughly $15 million. If everything goes well, that would be the price, but we're looking for much more than that, because we would love to have this to be taken care of in perpetuity. So we don't want it to be a one-and-done, we want it to be something that will be long-lasting for many generations to come."
Rev. Blue adds the timeline for the project remains on schedule, with groundbreaking for the 5/14 Memorial expected sometime in 2025.
In the meantime, Rev. Blue is asking residents of the community, as well as committee members and others to be patient, as the commission is working at a feverish pace.
"We knew it would take time. This is nothing that could be done overnight. We looked at several other areas where this type of tragedy has occurred, and believe it or not, we are further along ahead than most. It's sad that we can rely and look at the past, and see what others have done, but that's where we are," Rev. Blue noted. "We're looking forward when we announced the location and announce the executive director to help move things further along ahead. I believe the fundraising will take off, and more of the interest will just continue to be inspired by the community. We're looking forward for that opportunity to happen."