Residents of Tuxedo Park take a knee for George Floyd

A group of more than 75 Tuxedo Park residents gathered in front of American flag located in front of the police station on behalf of the late George Floyd Tuesday evening in an event organized by village residents.

Mayor David McFadden greeted his fellow residents and introduced the primary speaker, a civil rights attorney who lives in the village, who spoke for 15-minutes about the discrimination over the course of the country’s history as a republic including a woman’s right to vote, marriage equality, LBGT rights and systemic racism.

Th mayor described the event as non-partisan. “We started and ended the gathering with a prayer from St. Mary’s in Tuxedo Episcopal Church’s the Rev. Rick Datos-Robyn.

“Four to five young folks and four to five adults spoke to the crowd with very personal statements appealing for peace, ending racism at all levels, importance of voting and the responsibilities of each generation,” McFadden added.

“I spoke about our goal of returning the attention back to George Floyd where it belongs and away from those who have hijacked the message by looting and rioting.

“We all took a knee to open the gathering and during the closing prayer,” the mayor said. “Two of our on-duty police officers joined with us and participated in the gathering. There were only several signs and a minimal amount of chanting. We all had masks and did our best to social distance. The event lasted from 5:30 to 6:30 with many staying and talking after the event was over.”