Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams finished wrapping Brooklyn Borough Hall in a rainbow ribbon inscribed by thousands of Brooklynites with messages of hope and solidarity for the victims of the nightclub massacre in Orlando on June 12th in which 49 people were killed and another 53 people were wounded, many of them members of the LGBTQ+ community, and their families.
The more than 800-foot ribbon — made of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple segments — will be displayed at Brooklyn Borough Hall through the end of June, after which time Borough President Adams intends to deliver sections of it to families in Orlando. At the ceremony where he completed the wrapping of Brooklyn Borough Hall, two days before the largest projected NYC Pride Parade in history, Borough President Adams explained that the memorial demonstrates the shared commitment of Brooklynites to fighting gun violence and hate crimes, which have imperiled a number of communities, including local Latino, LGBTQ+, and Muslim populations that have been personally impacted by the tragedy.
The memorial builds on efforts by Borough President Adams, a 22-year veteran of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), to eliminate gun violence in Brooklyn and nationwide, particularly the prevention of mass shootings such as occurred in Orlando, where the shooter fired 202 rounds of ammunition. His proposals for limits on ammunition purchases — limiting purchases to licensed gun owners and restricting the amount of ammunition available at a time — have been introduced in the State Legislature by State Senator Roxanne J. Persaud and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon. Borough President Adams has also launched a Take Five to Stay Alive campaign that encourages Brooklyn residents to demand action against illegal gun trafficking, support laws that would require the safe storage of firearms, and invest in community-based gun violence prevention programs. For more information about the campaign, please visit brooklyn-usa.org.
In addition to the thousands of people who signed the ribbon, several local organizations —including BRIC, Brooklyn Arts Council, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce, Prospect Park Alliance, and PS 287 Bailey K. Ashford — assisted in informing the public about the project and in collecting signatures.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams completed the wrapping of Brooklyn Borough Hall in a rainbow banner inscribed with messages of hope and solidarity by thousands of Brooklynites
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams completed the wrapping of Brooklyn Borough Hall in a rainbow banner inscribed with messages of hope and solidarity by thousands of Brooklynites for the victims of the nightclub massacre in Orlando on June 12th in which 49 people were killed and another 53 people were wounded, many of them members of the LGBTQ+ community, and their families.