New Yorkers came together Sunday night to remember neighbors who were lost because of violence and to speak out against crime around the city.
Nearby, where Tyrone Ortiz was stabbed and killed after allegedly trying to break up a fight over a noise complaint in Highbridge Friday night, members of the community held a candlelight vigil for not just him but all of the recent victims of homicide in the area.
Besides Ortiz, organizers of the vigil explicitly took time to remember 64-year-old Valeria Ortega, who was killed by a stray bullet on the way to the supermarket. Participants also honored Tykeem Berry, who was killed during an argument inside a bodega while his daughter was right next to him.
Family members of some of those people were joined by several organizations such as the Guardian Angels, members of the Victims Right Council, and religious and political leaders, all of which called for more police presence in North Manhattan and in the Bronx.
The vigil happened just days after the NYPD released data that crime was lower in December 2022 than in December 2021.