A monument to Armenian Genocide victims has been erected in one of the parks in Troy city, New York State.

Local officials and members of the Armenian community gathered in Riverfront Park on Sunday to open the monument.

Father Stephanos Doudoukjian asked that God have mercy on the souls of the Armenian nation’s “myriad of martyrs who were executed in 1915 during the genocide in Western Armenia, Syria and other places”, The Troy Record reported.

The project was launched eight years ago. In 2005 Capital District Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument Committee was formed.

The committee co-chair Ralph Enokian said they are proud of what they had accomplished. His grandparents were killed in the genocide, mother and aunt survived and managed to escape from the country. They lived in different orphanages before eventually finding their way to the United States.

Armenians started arriving in Troy in the beginning of 20th century and have been playing a significant role since then. The second Armenian church of America was founded in Troy.