New York Attorney General Letitia James, City Councilman Alicka Ampry-Samuel, and Assemblywoman Latrice Walker all took the stage Friday to sing during a community celebration more than a half-century old.

"It's an opportunity for us to kind of dance in the streets and just really celebrate black music, black history, black culture," Walker said.

It's all part of annual "Old-Timer's Week" in Brownsville, when thousands of current and former residents of the neighborhood get together at the end of July. It's a tradition that dates to 1963.

"A lot of people try to make this into a scenario where it's just a party or a block party, but it means so much more. It is our family reunion," Walker said.

Walker grew up in the Glenmore Plaza Houses, went on to become a lawyer, and now represents the 55th Assembly District. Walker says because Brownsville is only a little more than one-square-mile, it's a tight-knit community.

But there's also gang activity in some of the 29 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) complexes in her district. She says events during "Old-Timer's Week" are centered around the Brownsville Recreation Center, known as the BRC, because it's considered a safe zone.

"Many times, there are geographic rifts between the two developments," Walker said. "But at least when there is a safe passageway between those developments and the BRC, everything that happens on those grounds, which we consider to be Brownsville hallowed grounds, is a ceasefire moment."

But for the first time in "Old-Timer's" history, shots were fired as festivities wrapped up — not at the BRC, but across the street at the Brownsville Playground.

Walker calls it an isolated incident, and wants those responsible arrested and for the BRC to remain a safe haven for the community.

"Everyone knows that this is a moment of reprieve," she said. "This is a moment where whatever it is that you have going on, you check that before you come into this area," she said.

Walker says this place serves families all year long, which is evident on the tiled wall at the entrance displaying the names of residents who have enjoyed the BRC for generations.