Angry N.Y.ers join March for Our Lives in D.C.

Hundreds of outraged New Yorkers joined the national March for Our Lives protest Saturday, calling once more for Congress to take action in the wake of recent mass shootings.

“No more silence, end gun violence!” the crowd chanted as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan.

Many city teachers joined in the march only six weeks after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting where 19 students and two instructors were killed by a gunman on May 31.

The United Federation of Teachers co-sponsored the demonstration where marchers gathered in Cadman Plaza East, surrounded by crosses bearing the names of the Uvalde victims.

“I’m here because I’m a teacher and we need common-sense gun laws to protect our kids,” said Queens educator Jessica Restivo, 35. “It’s way past time. We need a huge culture shift. We need to spend more time on people’s mental health and emotional health, especially after this pandemic.”

College student Felix Tagger, 21, was one of the New York march organizers. The time has long passed, he said, for the nation’s leaders in the Senate and the House to address the carnage.

“We’re all demanding that the federal government takes action,” he said. “A lot of people want change. We’re here because we’re outraged. But we’re also here because if we don’t do anything, nothing is going to change. That needs to stop.”

UFT employee Jean Jillet, 59, of Queens, offered a simple explanation for his attendance: “I’m here looking for peace. We want to see change.”

He supports a tough-oncrime stance from elected officials and raised some questions about bail reform laws.

“By locking you up today and putting you back on the streets tomorrow, that doesn’t serve any purpose,” he said. “They need to give officers the same power they had before, because right now ... they can’t do their jobs.”