A small protest in Crown Heights on Tuesday evening sought to bring back the tensions of the 1991 anti-Jewish riots, but the event passed largely without incident.
The flyer for the antisemitic rally, staged by a fringe group calling itself Crown Heights Bites Back, stated that it was in memory of Gavin Cato, a 7-year-old boy who was killed in a car accident, which led to the Crown Heights pogroms and violence against the Jewish community in 1991.
A statement issued on Tuesday morning by Crown Heights elected officials Council Member Crystal Hudson, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, and Assemblymember Brian Cunningham denounced the gathering.
The three officials released a joint statement denouncing the planned event as seeking to sow division among longtime residents of the Jewish and Caribbean communities in Crown Heights. “We unequivocally denounce this rhetoric,” they said.
Mayor Eric Adams said on X about the event: “The Crown Heights community has come a long way. Today, they are united against hate. We won’t let a hateful fringe group hijack that unity with antisemitic vitriol, disguising as activism. We must stand against this vile attempt to reopen old wounds.”
Roughly 20 activists, mostly dressed in black with face masks and sunglasses, arrived to protest at the site of the 1991 accident. They handed out flyers to passersby while preventing Jewish residents from approaching. At one point, a Jewish man was shoved from the sidewalk before being separated by police.
Despite the tension, no major clashes occurred. The group dispersed at around 8:30 PM.
Reactions from local residents varied. Some accepted the flyers, admitting they were unfamiliar with the decades-old events. Others openly criticized the activists for masking their identities and attempting to stir up division between the area’s Caribbean and Jewish communities—two groups that have coexisted peacefully for many years, the Times of Israel reported.
“When are y’all Jews gonna leave?” one bystander shouted, threatening a “part two riot,” Times of Israel reported. Another resident, however, confronted the protesters as “hypocrites,” questioning why no vigil had ever been held until now.
Local black residents confronted the agitators and demanded they leave while saying, “We’ve been working for peace here for 30 years and we don’t need you here to make trouble.”
If a Jewish man was shoved, why weren’t the protestors arrested for assault? What does it mean they were “separated”?
Why were they allowed to stop Jews walking down the street? That’s a clear hate crime.
For riot part two, this is really the worst we’re gonna see. And that’s a peleh.
Just recalling shmiras website line “the crime that didnt make headlines because shmira handled it”… it get handled properly – because shmira handled it.
Crown Heights Bites Back should be ticketed by the Dept of Sanitation for distributing food unless they have a license,
Street Vending Enforcement – DSNY
Street Vendor Complaint · NYC311 – make a complaint here
Mobile Food Vending License | City of New York
The group should be flagged as violating NYC Human Rights laws and not be issued a license, based upon intent to incite hatred against a protected group and to foment public unrest.
It is dangerous that the homeless or mentally ill be radicalized by them.
Jay S
NY State Senate Bill 2025-S723 – NYS bill banning masks at protests went no where because Democrats did not support it
Jewish and Black advocacy groups announce support for mask ban at NY demonstrations | The Times of Israel
NY Dems aim to de-mask ICE agents to scare them off raids — NOT protect the public – yet 3 days ago, the same Democrats who resist calls to unmask criminals and hooligans, have no such sympathy when it comes to the NYPD.
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Yaacov Yudewitz
Every communist is a liar and a thief
You didn’t even have the guts to uncover your faces
Of course not
It’s inorganic
Just the same paid pantifa anarchist Marxist protesters that show up at every type of riot to instigate violence.
If they exposed their faces they would be recognized as the same from the blm and gaza and abortion etc… riots and over state lines too.
These people are criminals
See leeroy press on Twitter
He’s been tracking these people
Any excuse to steal and do harm.
It’s obvious from looking at the “Protesters” and their flyers that this is not a black group that is looking for justice. These are paid anarchists working for a foreign power. This must be investigated. There is a global power that is behind this anti Semitic rise around the world and it must be investigated. Why are arabs and white people demonstrating for a car accident that occurred almost 35 years ago and then making as of this is a white zionist issue. This is obviously someone that is trying to get the black community to hate Jews and Israel.… Read more »
The same people behind the arab spring.
Cia and fbi
Responsible for regime change
Now they’ve unleashed their tactics internally in the United States.
But they overplayed their hands and now they are exposed.
Trying to bring on a totalitarian state through controlled anarchy. Then they clamp down control.
Happens with every communist/Marxists revolution.
Classic playbook
gotta love our black brothers!!
“Our” black brothers? Maybe your brothers, not mine.
Don’t lump every black person in the same huge basket.
I know a lot of kind respectful hardworking decent ones.
But yes the violence in their communities have got to be resolved.
I think the root is related to the decline in religion and in intact family units as a result of the decline in religion.
Teach sheva mitzvos bnei noach
Thank you for being a mensch by suggesting that not all black should be put in one basket. Respect to you!
There are black Jews! How small -minded.
Just look at the masked creatures. They are not from our community. Obviously hired and paid for.
These protestors don’t all appear to be black. Possibly they are from the Hamas network of protestors.