Funeral services were held connected Sunday to commemorate 17 lives mislaid a week agone erstwhile New York City’s deadliest occurrence successful decades tore done an flat gathering successful the Bronx. All the victims were of West African origin, from Gambia, Mali and Guinea. Half of them were children; the youngest was 2.
Fifteen caskets arrived astatine the Islamic Cultural Center connected Sunday morning, astatine astir the aforesaid clip of time that the calamity had occurred a week earlier, erstwhile a abstraction heater caught fire. (A abstracted work had been held connected Wednesday for the different 2 victims, from Mali.)
Many residents had complained astir insufficient heating, and galore of the families successful the gathering owned abstraction heaters.
The person of the Islamic center, Sheikh Musa Drammeh, utilized the juncture to denounce the surviving conditions that allowed the occurrence to occur, directing his words to elected officials who had arrived to wage their respects, including Mayor Eric Adams, Senator Chuck Schumer and Attorney General Letitia James.
“If these radical lived successful Midtown Manhattan, this wouldn’t person happened. They would not person needed abstraction heaters. The conditions successful which they lived successful the Bronx caused their death,” helium said, turning toward the officials and adding: “Mr. Mayor, you heard? Mr. Schumer, you heard?”
What follows are scenes from the assemblage mourning implicit the weekend:
A assemblage gathered extracurricular the Islamic Cultural Center connected Sunday.
Family members and neighbors gathered successful tents arsenic the caskets arrived astatine the halfway connected Sunday, 1 for women and different for antheral mourners.
Mourners walked into the halfway for the supplication work connected Sunday.
Photos of the victims were placed connected a memorial successful beforehand of the Twin Parks North West gathering connected Friday.
The assemblage watched arsenic coffins were brought into the halfway connected Sunday.
Hearses lined the streets arsenic the coffins arrived.
Anita Konate cried for the occurrence victims arsenic she stood extracurricular the halfway connected Sunday.
Mourners held onto a coffin arsenic it is rolled done the crowd.
The men’s supplication country was packed Sunday morning.
Members of the New York City Fire Department attended the supplication service.
The country was packed truthful tightly that the imam had to repeatedly outcry to wide a way truthful that the coffins could beryllium brought successful and beryllium arranged.
“What is happening present successful the Bronx, it is what is happening crossed our city, wherever the communities with Black, brownish and migrant radical are,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said connected Sunday. “It’s clip to extremity those inequalities truthful we don’t person our babies and our families torn isolated by tragedy. The American imagination for excessively galore burned successful that fire.”
The assemblage astatine Masjid-Ur-Rahmah grieved portion Imam Musa Kabba delivered a sermon during a abstracted supplication work connected Friday.
The victims, who included 8 children, mislaid their lives from fume inhalation, according to the city’s aesculapian examiner.
Those who could not get wrong the halfway for the Sunday work watched done the windows.