The Crown Heights Riot

One of the most interesting facts about living in Crown Heights a small Brooklyn neighborhood, is how a large population of largely Caribbean and African descent and a large minority of Hasidic Jews could live in the same neighborhood, almost side by side and not interact. The tensions over the years have been well known. It was not until August of 1991 that the true tension came to light and would become known as the “Crown Heights Riots. “

As a well-known rabbi was being escorted across town in a motorcade, one of the cars in the motorcade accidentally stuck and killed a Guyanese immigrant child and his cousin. Although accounts differ, what is known is that the Jewish driver of the car that struck the children was attacked by a group of black men prior to the ambulances arriving. A Jewish volunteer ambulance arrived first and took the driver to a Jewish hospital and shortly thereafter another ambulance arrived to take the children to a hospital. One of the children died shortly after getting to the hospital. The black community was unsettled that the driver of the vehicle was taken from the scene before the children and stated it was racially motivated.

After the accident, violence erupted. An Australian Orthodox Jew, who was walking in the Crown Heights neighborhood, was attacked and killed by a group of black men. This ultimately started riots and violence revolving around the racial and cultural tensions between the Hasidic Jewish community and the African and Caribbean American communities.

The riots, which included three days of violence, looting, damages to many Jewish homes, ultimately resulted in politicians and local leaders needing to work harder towards racial reconciliation in the neighborhood. The Crown Heights Riot had a major impact on New York City Mayor election in 1993. Mayor David Dinkins was criticize of his handling of the Crown Heights riots stating he did not deploy enough police and act quick enough. He ultimately lost a lot of supporter during the 1993 race, which led to his defeat by Rudolph Giuliani.