Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Just 10 days ago, the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue was a central hub for the residents of Buffalo's East Side. It was where folks from the community came for their groceries and other essential items for daily living, while also interacting with others from the area.
Sadly, that came to a screeching halt on May 14, 2022 when an 18-year-old gunman from more than three hours away downstate shot 13 people at the supermarket, killing 10 of them in a racially motivated hate crime.
Despite the Tops in the 1200 block of Jefferson Avenue becoming a mass memorial site for those who tragically lost their lives too soon, it has also become a community hub for people to heal, and for people to help those most in need during these tough times.
"Many organizations, groups, people from across the state are here to bring community. To try to donate, provide, do anything they can during these times of the tragedy that occurred here. So it means a lot," said Darryl Scott from Buffalo SNUG while on site helping feed residents on Sunday. "It means bringing the community back together. It means bringing the neighbor back to the neighborhood. All of these things that is missing in this community right now, due to this tragedy that occurred eight days ago."
"Buffalo is forever changed now with something like this, with a tragedy like this. We're gonna come together as a community, and what are the last few letters: Unity," added Jason Jones on Sunday. "We've got to keep coming together as one. So as many times as we need to put our hands and heal the community, that's what we'll do. I mean, it was one day, but you can't put a timeline on the trauma and the healing."
For people like Scott, Jones and Maria Gambino, they have donated their time to help the local residents in whatever way they can. For some, it is providing a warm daily meal for folks who cannot afford to travel across town to hit up another grocery store. For others, it is something as simple as offering some stress relief with free messages on the street.
"It's sad it has to come to something like this for everybody to get together, but nonetheless, everybody, at least, still is coming together and lending each other some support," said Gambino on Sunday. "That's what we're here for. We're here to lend support to people, let them know, we're here, we have these gifts that we were given from the good man above, and we just want to share it with everybody else. Nothing more, nothing less."
Given all that happened in a matter of minutes during a horrible and unspeakable event a week-and-a-half ago, support has come from near and far for the people most affected by this tragedy. But almost in true Buffalo form, it has been the good and the positives in the recent days that have tended to outweigh the evil that took place. And in the days to come for the East Side community, it's only the beginning.
"It's gonna be a long process," Scott said. "This is the 'City of Good Neighbors,' and I believe we have the people here that can do it, that can bring relief for this community. Not just this week, but in years to come, as this will be a continuous thing for a lot of the families that were involved, and the neighbors in this community."
"I just hope that it continues throughout this," added Gambino. "Long after this has been - I can't even say put to rest, it'll never be put to rest. But as time heals, I hope none of this goes away, because this community needs it."
It is expected that relief for residents of Buffalo's East Side community will continue until the Tops on Jefferson Avenue re-opens some time in the unknown future. The hope is for the Tops to re-open to allow for residents to, once again, have a resource for food and essentials instead of becoming a "food desert" as it had been before the supermarket was opened in 2003.
However, there has already been some pushback from local community members into the idea of even opening the Tops back up at all. They would rather try to open the Tops or another supermarket somewhere else in town, while reserving the 1200 block as a memorial for those who lost their lives and were affected the most by the actions taken on May 14.
While there are plenty of people who are against the re-opening of the Tops on Jefferson Avenue, there are those who believe it is critical to get the supermarket back up and operational to supply folks with a source of goods, while also honoring those that tragically died.
"It's a lot that has to go into it, and it has to be something here to open just because of the need that this community [has] for food and groceries," Scott said. "[There's] nothing here close enough. It's supermarkets miles away, but some people in this community, they don't have the means to get to where those other grocery stores may be."
As for others, it comes as simple as leaving it up to the community to determine the fate of the Tops on Jefferson Avenue.
"We should leave it up to the community right here. We should figure it out together," Jones said. "Do I want to say we vote on it? Maybe. But I mean, that is a tough question."
While the future of the Tops on Jefferson Avenue is still to be determined, it has become clear that some sort of long-term memorial for the 10 victims of the mass shooting should be in place on site.
It is the belief of many that it should be up to the families and how they want their loved ones honored, and any input from the community would be more showings of support for the victims.
"The families that were impacted by this firsthand, they should have a lot of say on what does this look like. They should be a part of that process," Scott said in agreeance.
"I mean, working with local artists that would work with the community, that would talk to the families, to the individuals will be like, 'How would you like this for their everlasting memory?'," Jones added as an idea. "We should still keep working together even in that effect."
