West Hill neighborhood event creating “unity in the community”
ALBANY (WRGB) – Community members in the West Hill neighborhood are working to create “unity in their community”.
Saturday, the Frank Chapman Memorial Institute community group hosted the 2nd annual West Hill Festival.
The block party was meant to bring community members together to mingle. Rain didn’t stop people from enjoying. There was food, music, kids activities, community organizations, and vendors.
“It's all about unity in the community, get out of your house and come down,” organizer Norma Chapman said. “We want to bring it back to when all families connected, everybody knew who was on your block.”
This comes after a recent string of violence in the city of Albany. Chapman says she hopes events like these will help create unity.
518SNUG was one organization that set up their table. Their group raises awareness about reducing gun violence. Their coworker and friend Elijah Cancer was shot and killed in Albany in early July.
“We're losing too many,” Shawn Cooks said. “We hope that this gun violence can stop. We may never be able to fully stop it, but we definitely want to try and reduce it and just hope the community will wake up.”
Chapman says she hopes to host many more similar gatherings for the community.
The Frank Chapman Memorial Institute community center is located at 340 First Street in Albany.
