| Crown Heights Riot |
Article Index for Crown Heights |
Shopping Heights |
Shopping Riot |
Website Links For Crown |
Information AboutCrown Heights Riot |
|
CAUSES OF THE RIOT The events that ignited the Crown Heights riots, and its record in the history books, are mired in political and racially-charged assertions and accusations. On a cemetery visit to his father-in-law's grave, Yosef Lifsh, driving a car owned by Yehuda Zirkland, either ran a red light or passed through the intersection lawfully, striking and killing a seven-year-old Guyanese boy named Gavin Cato and seriously injuring his cousin Angela, also seven years of age. Eyewitnesses have given various reports of the car's speed, from 25 miles per hour to 65. Some witnesses claimed that the vehicle sped through the red light and that the driver smelled of alcohol. Lifsh, who escaped to Israel before charges could be filed, was later found not to have been issued a driver's license. What is not denied is the fact that as the car crossed the intersection, it was hit by another car, causing it to veer out of control and run over Gavin. A private Hasidic ambulance from the Hatzoloh Ambulance Corps came to the scene and removed the Hasidic driver on the orders of a police officer, leaving the injured boy behind. A city ambulance arrived after to treat Gavin, who died of his injuries at a nearby hospital. The incident sparked a riot that was ultimately fueled by long-standing underlying tensions between black and Jewish residents of the neighborhood. SCOPE OF THE RIOT African-American residents of the neighborhood then rioted for four consecutive days fueled by a belief that the treatment of the car accident victims was unequal. Fires were set and shops were looted as the riot grew out of control. A visiting rabbinical student from , 44, was charged with inciting a mob, including Nelson, to "get Jews". Price was charged in federal court one day before the expiration of the statute of limitations for that crime. Nelson was released to a halfway house on June 5, 2004. FALLOUT FOR MAYOR DINKINS Then mayor David Dinkins was criticized for his poor handling of the events, and the turmoil proved to be a key issue in the next New York City mayoral election, contested in 1993 as a rematch between incumbent David Dinkins and Rudolph Giuliani , whom Dinkins had narrowly defeated four years earlier. On June 16 , 1993 , a huge rally was held outside City Hall in downtown Manhattan , the primary focus of which was out-of-control criminal violence in general (which the Dinkins administration was viewed by the rally's attendees as being indifferent towards) and continued bitterness over the events in Crown Heights from two years earlier in particular; and several speakers at the rally, including mayoral candidate Giuliani and a Brooklyn-based African-American community activist, Roy Innis , even went so far as to label the Crown Heights episode a Pogrom . Giuliani won the election, and subsequent polls showed that a significant shift in the Jewish vote from 1989 was a contributing factor in his victory. FIRES IN THE MIRROR Accomplished performance artist and actress Anna Deavere Smith wrote a one-woman play, " Fires In The Mirror ", about the racial tensions in Crown Heights after the riots. In an interwoven series of brief monologues, Ms. Smith presents 29 characters based on verbatim excerpts from interviews conducted with her subjects. The play seeks to facilitate intercultural exchange and public discussion about sexual and racial politics, ethnic identity, and multiculturalism. The piece premiered at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in New York City and was later adapted for film by American Playhouse for public television in order to meet international demand for the piece. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|