Activists rallied against gun violence in Mount Vernon Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard was set to deliver her State of the City address.

The rally took place outside the Levister Towers apartment complex, the location where a 14-year-old was shot and killed last month. 

Residents and members of Save Mount Vernon are calling for the Gov. Kathy Hochul to implement a state of emergency to provide the city with the resources it needs to prevent crime.

They say the city needs a comprehensive public safety plan, has a depleted police department and lacks a gun buyback program.

Patterson-Howard said she was not invited to the rally but showed up to hear residents' concerns. She said she has expressed similar concerns and plans to provide more information at the State of the City address.

"These are things that we have been addressing. We're not running away from issues. I've been talking about needing more funding for the police department," said the mayor. 

Patterson-Howard said public safety will be one of the bigger points of address, along with fixing the city's infrastructure and bolstering the economy.