Stand up Trenton residents, we must continue Art All Night

Police were gone from Roebling Wire Works last Wednesday after investigations wrapped following Sunday morning’s mass shooting at the Art All Night event.

The Roebling facility looked ghostly although entry found Art All Night overseer Joe Kuzemka seated just inside the doors.

Kuzemka looked exhausted but he stood for a handshake followed by a hug that enveloped my body. The embrace seemed like something we both needed and deserved.

Kuzemka accepted my pledge of support, even noted he might be taking me up on the offer, perhaps sooner than later.

No doubt he will grant an interview in the near future but this meeting deserved only affection for a man who loves the City of Trenton.

Heartbreaking? You bet. Imagine spending a year’s time planning and working toward production of a fantastic Trenton event, only to watch a dream obliterated by gunfire.

Now, critics debate whether Art All Night organizers should make another attempt in June 2019, an inquiry that deserves a resounding affirmation.

Almost six years have passed since James Egan Holmes set off tear gas grenades then killed twelve people inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Seventy people were injured, 58 of them from gunfire.

Holmes attacked on July 20, 2012 and six months later, the theater opened. The mid-January 2013 comeback signaled that people should not yield to fear.

Stand up Trenton residents. We must continue the Art All Night celebration and it’s important that organizers understand that we have their back.

Let them take their time before speaking and when they do, it’s imperative that we offer heartfelt condolences to them and all people impacted by the Art All Night violence and other acts that occur throughout the City of Trenton.

A couple who carried out their art contribution accepted an apology about what had occurred.

“What happened is unfortunate but we intend to come back next year,” they said.

L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist.