Governor Hochul: "We are going to now continue to forge a path forward and harken in a new beginning for Buffalo because we came together as one after this tragedy. It won't define us forever, but people know to look at this time and say how he came through, what has to be so uniquely known as the Buffalo Way."

Earlier today, on the six-month anniversary of the Tops Supermarket shooting, Governor Kathy Hochul reaffirmed the state's commitment to the East Buffalo community.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the event is available here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks are available below:

I do want to say that after the six months, you know, I would say one reflection is powerful. One is that we are stronger than we were before. This tragedy was something we had to deal with in the moment, but if you think about the six months we just came through, it is a true statement that our spirits were not broken, our spirits were in fact lifted up. And scripture says, "The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger." And that's what happened in this incredibly strong community. We lift each other up, we looked out for each other, we took care of our neighbors, and we didn't wallow in our pain and suffering.

And our hearts break every day for those families that are still having the empty seat at the kitchen table or the dining room, especially as the holidays come upon us. But we are going to now continue to forge a path forward and harken in a new beginning for Buffalo because we came together as one after this tragedy. It won't define us forever, but people know to look at this time and say how he came through, what has to be so uniquely known as the Buffalo Way.

I want to thank Reverend Blue, again, for his leadership at this time and as we continue to rewrite the Buffalo Comeback story.