Crown Heights 20 Years Later: Leaders Work To Bring Harmony To Tense Community
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While the Crown Heights riots happened 20 years ago, community leaders say that the relationship between the area’s Hasidic Jewish and black populations remains far from ideal. In the second of NY1’s three-part series, Jeanine Ramirez explores the tension in Crown Heights today.Richard Green keeps what he calls a “peace garden” outside of his office at the Crown Heights Youth Collective. The garden is part of an initiative to foster harmony in the neighborhood that was anything but harmonious 20 years ago.
"They were pelting from both sides. They were pelting each other, and the thing is the cops were in the middle of it. They weren't prepared that first night — they didn't have the heavy helmets," said Green.
The night the violence started, Borough President Marty Markowitz, who was a state senator at the time, was having his summer concert series nearby.
"All of a sudden I saw literally 50, 60, 70 cops running out of the concert location from outside and from on the field, running out. At that moment, I had no idea what was going on," said Markowitz.
Black teens were attacking Hasidic Jews after a car in a Hasidic motorcade accidentally ran over and killed a young black boy named Gavin Cato. A Hasidic man, Yankel Rosenbaum, was stabbed to death in the violence that followed.
"It was scary, horrible, there's no way to sugarcoat it,” said Markowitz.
Community leaders who were called on then to help end the violence say that even now it takes a constant effort.
"You have to keep the peace. Twenty years later, we're still keeping the peace," said Green.
"Tolerance is good but that's a very low step on the ladder. When you say ‘I tolerate you,’ great, thanks a lot. To say you love and appreciate and respect the other person, that's really what's needed,” said Rabbi David Lazerson of Dr. Laz and the CURE.
Lazerson worked with Green on behalf of the Hasidic community. While he and others say communication has improved, they say they have to be realistic because differences will remain.
"Is there a love affair? It’s not a matter of a love affair. It's just a matter of respect. That's all, respect to each other, and I think that by and large, that's true,” said Markowitz.
"We have to keep it going because I don't know if the world realizes how close or the magnitude that Crown Heights could have been,” said Green.