Mayor Bloomberg's address at The Rev. Al Sharpton's Harlem commemoration of King Day got off to a slightly bumpy start today, but bounced back when he spoke of getting illegal guns off the streets, according to our man on the scene, Henrick Karoliszyn.

The mayor, (pictured here at an earlier event at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music), took stage to at least a dozen people booing, making the beginning of his speech inaudible. He did not acknowledge the jeers, and they quickly subsided.

Bloomberg said King “completely steered away from bitterness or anger, and that is in spite of the fact that he and his family were subjected to nearly daily threats to their lives and in spite of the fact that their home was bombed, twice, and in spite of the fact that here in our city, King was stabbed at a public event" in 1958.

“This is a day when we pledge ourselves to further King’s dream” in three ways, Hizzoner said:

“First, we’ll work to reduce the kind of gun violence that took King’s life."

He said every day, 34 Americans are killed with guns – more than in the Virginia Tech shooting -- and those guns are often bought illegally: "It is our duty to act. Over the last five years I’ve helped build a coalition [with] more than 500 mayors from across the country … (to) fight this senseless bloodshed. In the year ahead we are going to step up that work,” Bloomberg said to applause.  

Gov. Cuomo, who is apparently having a little trouble making it to the Rev. Al Sharpton's pol-packed observance of King Day at his National Action Network headquarters (per Azi on Twitter), just put out this statement in honor of the slain civil rights leader:

"I join with all New Yorkers to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Today, we honor a leader who dedicated his life to achieving peace and equality, who fought and sacrificed for the rights of all Americans, and who continues to inspire new generations to pursue justice throughout the world.

"Yet this day is more than just a day of national remembrance. Today is as much about how we reflect upon Dr. King as it is about how Dr. King would reflect upon us. On this day, we look at the state of our society as it is and we strive for the best that our society could be. In honor of Dr. King, we should recommit to hold ourselves up to the highest standard.

"We continue to face challenges in New York and across this nation, but when we remember Dr. King's legacy, we recognize that we have faced challenges before and that we have overcome them together. Progress comes when we realize that we all have a common purpose and a shared destiny, that, as Dr. King said, "whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

"It is through our solemn reflection and renewed commitment that we honor Dr. King, further the causes that he championed, and carry on his dream."