ROCHESTER, N.Y. — After a tragic mass shooting late last month at Maplewood Park in Rochester left two dead, faith leaders are demanding changes. 

Upstairs at the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, Rev. Rickey Harvey shared the moment that he heard gunshots ring out near his home. 

“I thought it was fireworks," said Harvey. "The neighbors asked, 'Did I hear that? Within a matter of seconds we heard ambulances, fire trucks [and] policemen."

Harvey lives in the Maplewood Park neighborhood. He was outside when the mass shooting in the park took place. It's an event he said traumatized his community. 

“By the sirens, we knew that somebody lost their life," he said. "[It's] traumatizing to know that we heard gunshots where people’s lives were being taken."

While Harvey and his neighbors were unharmed, two women, Tyasia Manning and Phylicia Council, were killed during the shooting. It's something that’s made the neighborhood feel different, according to Harvey. 

“This is the Flower City, but the flowers aren’t blooming right now," said Harvey. "As beautiful as the flowers are we don’t feel the blooms that are blooming in our city right now.”

Groups gathered as part of the Consortium for Safe Communities. Made up of community members of all kinds, it works together to find solutions to reduce the violence in Rochester and other cities across the state. One step is calling on lawmakers in Albany to pass new public safety legislation. 

“We’re tired, we are fed up and we want our lawmakers to hear us," Benjamin Cox said. "[We don't want them to] just sugar coat that crime is down."

Cox says the group sent a letter with 3,000 signatures to Albany. They’re asking for introducing a repeat offender standard and a public safety standard. 

“When we’re faced with fear of not being able to walk to the streets and yet some of our lawmakers have comfort of sleeping at night without having this kind of experience, enough is enough," said Cox. 

In the weeks after the shooting, residents in the Maplewood neighborhood are working to move forward. Harvey says it will take time, but the community will heal.