Echoes of 1991 in Crown Heights?
The Times and Sun have articles this morning about the escalating tensions between Crown Heights’ black and Hasidic communities. The stories talk about how the NYPD has stepped up its presence on the area’s streets and politicians have been holding press conferences to decry the violence, all to try to prevent the neighborhood from once…
The Times and Sun have articles this morning about the escalating tensions between Crown Heights’ black and Hasidic communities. The stories talk about how the NYPD has stepped up its presence on the area’s streets and politicians have been holding press conferences to decry the violence, all to try to prevent the neighborhood from once again becoming the war zone that produced the 1991 riots. The latest problems in Crown Heights began in April, when a black 20-year-old was attacked by Hasidic men in what the police have deemed a bias crime. Since then, black children have pelted a bus carrying Hasidic toddlers with stones and last week black youths beat and robbed a Jewish teen. The police believe the first attack against the black 20-year-old was done by someone with ties to a Jewish civilian patrol group called the Shmira. Bias crimes in the neighborhood are up this year; there have been nine so far, compared to seven at this time in 2007. Some Crown Heights residents say the city and politicians are overreacting to the spate of violence, according to the Sun, since “most of the culprits — both black and Jewish — are too young to remember the riots, and some community leaders say they are concerned that it’s actually the grown-ups who are stoking a conflict between the groups.”
Neighborhood Simmers With Tension Again [NY Times]
Threat of Another Riot in Crown Heights [NY Sun]
Photo by Frank Lynch.
“while we’re on the subject, why do they always hit on youngish women? i’m in my 20s, as are many of my friends, and many of us have been hit on by hasidic men in the subway.”
This is not exactly a riddle for the ages.
Young women are hot.
Older women are not.
Next question….
I got hissed at by a Hasidic woman in the Atlantic Terminal for walking with my boyfriend (I’m a man). We were not even holding hands. This was maybe 2 months ago.
HISSED!!!
Grew up in CH
The irony in the conflict between the Hasids and the Black community is that they both have a sense of entitlement and feel slighted by the other.
Both communities act as if they own the streets when in fact they need to figure out a way to share which doesn’t come easily
Whenever the West Indian Parade falls on a high holy day the Hasidic community wants it shut down completely, not just moved to another date which inevitably happens
The two sides simply have utter contempt for each other and it’s been that way for a long time.
As to historic beefs between Blacks and Jews lets not go there. We had each other’s backs during the struggle for Civil Rights. Even amongst the Jewish community in NY, there is distaste for how the Hasidic community operates. They just get too bada$$ to be around other people.
Can’t we all just drink some Manishevitz?
The only reason that the incident with the Black kid being assaulted by Hasids was brought to light was because his father was a cop who got 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement involved. The Hasidic definitely get preferential treatment by the NYPD which can create anymosity. However, the two groups do live side by side in relative peace and have done so since the Lubavitch sect started moving to Crown Heights en masse at about the same time that Blacks who migrated from the south started moving in. Although the relationships have been peaceful and cordial, there is little real interaction between the two groups with the exception of an occassional basketball game staged by community leaders. Other than these pre-arranged events the children play separately from each other.
If the jews want me take a side on this then I will side with Blacks.
Let’s see – the jews at work are recists, entitled, rude, mean, evil, petty, and hate mongers. They’ll lose every time.
Don’t I know it, 1:23!
I like to think I’m tolerant of most people, but every time I see one of those guys on the subway barrel people over to sit down, I want to scream. It’s happened enough times that it seems to be a “thing” with them. Seems they have a total lack of respect for anyone but their own kind.
They will sit there, while a 80 year old with a cane tries to stand upright and a pregnant woman bursting at the seams stands.
It is a real turn off.
1:19…unsurprising if you think every time you put out you’re going to wind up preggers. the broods they have!
1:16…Hassidic men are known to hire prostitutes quite frequently also.
I think it’s cause their wives don’t put out much.
1:09: while we’re on the subject, why do they always hit on youngish women? i’m in my 20s, as are many of my friends, and many of us have been hit on by hasidic men in the subway.