New Yorkers from Jamaica, Ireland reflect on what Queen Elizabeth II's death means
NEW YORK -- Queen Elizabeth II was not just the queen of the United Kingdom, but one of the faces of the monarchy through ups and downs, conflicts and commonwealths, for decades.
New Yorkers from various nations with connections to the queen are now reflecting on what her death means.
CBS2's Tim McNicholas visited the bustling Brooklyn Terminal Market, where thousands of New Yorkers from the West Indies go for their grocery shopping.
Friday, shoppers and employees from Jamaica were reflecting on the queen's death.
"She treat us well. She look out for the country," Ryan Martin said. "Charity, always donating and stuff like that."
"We're going to miss her. She's a wonderful person," Marie Hamilton said.
Martin, who works security at one of the market's stores, remembers catching a glimpse of the queen when she visited the country in 2002. She was still regarded as Jamaica's queen, now a largely symbolic role, until her death.
"It was good because everybody was excited to see the queen, so it was a very good thing," he said.
The prime minister of Jamaica says all flags on public buildings will be flown at half-mast for 12 days.
Some of shoppers said they'd like to find ways to pay their respect here in New York, but some customers told CBS2 off-camera they were not fans of the royal family and their history.
That includes Leroy Cummins, who moved to New York from Barbados in the '60s.
"There's little things that we're concerned about, reparations and all the different things that occurred, but on behalf of her and her family, my condolences go out to her family," he said.
In Yonkers, the queen's death was the talk of the tavern at Rory Dolan's. Waitress Maria Friel from northern Ireland says many of her friends and family resent the queen, but not her.
"I thought she was a great woman. I technically look at her as like she was a grandmother, she was a mother, and I'm kind of looking at that aspect of it, more so than growing up in the north and being bitter," Friel said.
As for Martin?
"We love the queen in Jamaica," he said.
He says his family back home is mourning the queen as well.