Brooklyn residents marked Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Saturday as several local organizations held free HIV/AIDS testing events throughout the borough.

Organizers say this year was the first time the Health Ministry at the Mount Pisgah Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant hosted the free tests. According to their records from the day, members of the community ranging in age from 21 to 68 years old came in for free tests.

?The incidents of HIV in black communities ? the numbers are astronomical and, unfortunately, a lot don't get checked out until they develop symptoms, problems,? says Sharon Bromley, of Mount Pisgah.