The wounds were still raw in 1992, and the anger of blacks and Jews in Crown Heights surfaced once again.
Hasidic Jews took to the streets in protest after the acquittal of Lemerick Nelson in his first trial for the death of Yankel Rosenbaum. There were random fights, and a march over the bridge. Nelson was the only one arrested in Rosenbaum's stabbing death in the riots the summer before.
Leaders Work To Prevent Chaos That Once Claimed Streets Of Crown Heights
Crown Heights used to be synonymous for tensions between blacks and Jews. In the following Brooklyn, Then & Now report, NY1’s Jeanine Ramirez looks back at the days when those tensions came to a boiling point, and how community leaders hope a new approach will make such confrontations a thing of the past.
The wounds were still raw in 1992, and the anger of blacks and Jews in Crown Heights surfaced once again.
Hasidic Jews took to the streets in protest after the acquittal of Lemerick Nelson in his first trial for the death of Yankel Rosenbaum. There were random fights, and a march over the bridge. Nelson was the only one arrested in Rosenbaum’s stabbing death in the riots the summer before.
The Jewish community, upset over the verdict, had also wanted to see more arrests. The black community wanted another man held accountable – the Hasidic driver who lost control of his car and killed seven-year-old Gavin Cato. Their anger stemmed from perceived preferential treatment for the neighborhood’s Hasidic Jews.
“A lot of young people have been carrying around a lot of frustrations that they’ve been carrying on historically for many years,” said Richard Green, director of the Crown Heights Youth Collective, in 1992.
Green was out on the streets during the riots and the verdict.
”I tell folks I served in two wars. Vietnam and Brooklyn at that time, because it was really, really tense,” says Green now.
In 1992, meetings at the 71st precinct Community Council were also tense. Now, much has changed.
“Our relations are a lot better,” says Chanina Sperlin of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council. “You can’t even compare it.”
“We were able to move away from it, and we’ve been able to build on it,” says Green. “I think we’re a greater city because of that building that we did in Crown Heights.”
Some of the building included creation of a civilian patrol with blacks and Jews partnered together, a storefront mediation center, a multi-cultural mothers group and lots of meetings.
What exists now in Crown Heights that didn’t exist back in the early 90s is communication between blacks and Jews. Community leaders say they all have each other’s cell phone numbers and when an incident arises, they quickly call each other and trip to nip it in the bud.
“Because of the communication of the cell phones and the emails, people can be contacted right away,” says Sperlin. “Even if, God forbid, something happens at two in the morning, we know that we can contact them.”
“Whenever there’s an incident, we may be angry. We may all have our different ways of seeing the incident,” says Green. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to talk about it.”
And by talking, leaders say, they should avoid the chaos that once claimed their streets.
Tzuflogin
Tzufloygin
CHer
since when does chanina sperlin represent the community… let’s not forget he was voted in by only 7 votes!!! We don’t want him representing us…
YItz
NY1 should update their files and contact the more current people. Chanina bas limited speaking skills, he should have known better and declined. But he thrives for photos so the poiiticians will think he is still a big mache.
Toshav Haschunah over 40 years
to CHer and Yitz,
There is a rule either PUT UP OR SHUT UP.
It is irrelavant whether channa won by 7 votes – 70 votes or 700 voter,
The fact is that Chanina helped hundreds of people in CH and is constantly helping.and will not stop do do so with your silly comments.
So stop ctiticising and do something constructive rather than destructive.
CH
Chanina Sperlin is the only one helping Crown Heights, go Chanina.
Befuddled
NY1 should have titled the article
“Planit Chanina”
The man is clueless!
Mushkie
Chanina got voted in by our community & he is the best for our community.
Boruch ben Tzvi HaKohaine Hoffinger
B”H
To CHer, etc. Stop being cowards and put in your names.
I don’t read ‘pashkvils’ and it weakens the web site.
Boruch N. Hoffinger
Yishaya Korn
A certain person once said about Chanina that he is “Borderline Downsyndrom”.
Chanina along with all his good intentions tries very hard but lacks the certain smarts… when Ephraim Klein A”H was murdered he got up in front of the press cameras, behind him many various leaders and so called leaders (hardly any of them that represent our part of Crown Heights) and called for ‘gun control’ in the most absurd English (meuuuuuseeeeem) instead of calling for more police patrols and vital things such as surveillance and faster response times.
Then when we wanted a parade everyone tried to take credit for succeeding in getting the permits, when in fact we are all blind to the fact that the NYPD took a for fools and rattled our chain and made out lives miserable. Chanina went and send out a press release (that thank g-d this site didn’t publish) claiming victory and stated that he got us the permits.
He is full of good intentions but im sorry he does not represent me, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, and I speak for myself, a resident of this holy Shechuna.
Itzhak Schier
The problem is that ALL of our askonim are underappreciated and tainted both by infighting and ridiculous comments and jibes from people who do not do a tenth of what they do for the shchuna. Perhaps the problem lies in the particular structure of our politics, or perhaps it is just human nature, but both we and our askonim deserve better than they are getting from all sides.
If someone can truly be pinned with a concrete offense or is guilty of gross mismanagement that can be documented by an IMPARTIAL advisor, then that person or persons must go. Ditto if someone can be proven to be completely “farkoift”. If the strife is being caused by disparate personalities that cannot work together, then the election system has to be changed to a slate system, a rotation system or some other system where, even though not everyone will feel represented, those who are elected to lead and serve can do so without strife.
But, if the problems are being caused by a few loud armchair laydigeyers, then those people need to be marginalized so that those who want to lead and help can do so without “comments from the peanut gallery”.
As for me, I am relocating abroad once again after Tishrei anyway, but I will cast ten or twelve absentee ballots for each kilo of my body weight for my dream ticket of Charlie Buttons-Sidney-Zalman Der Shikker if that will stop the machloikes.
Mendel
Even Hanina needs a new tune. All he talks about is how the Yidden and blacks have cell phone numbers for each others. That’s all he’s said for years!
What is anybody doing about bettering relations with blacks and hispanics? Getting to the real core of the issues? Chanina talks a talk, but he doesn’t walk the walk.
The Shea Hechts know how to do that walk, but don’t bother with the silliness of JCC politics.
chaim yankel
shea hecht is a wonderful alternative to chanina. Just ask anyone in the family.
motti
whoever wrote the downs syndrome comment was way out of line