On that day, a Hasidic man drove through this intersection as the traffic signal was changing (it's unclear whether it was yellow or red), struck another vehicle, and veered onto the sidewalk in front of those apartment buildings, hitting and killing a 7-year-old black boy. The accident brought simmering racial tensions to a head and set off three days of anti-Semitic violence now known as the Crown Heights riots.
Day 148
August 19, 1991
May 26th, 2012
A tragic death. Equally tragic and totally unnecessary was the death of Yankel Rosenbaum, an Australian jew, innocently caught up in the Crown Heights Riots. We are all in this world together people. Violence has no place, tolerance is the key.
Too bad about the riots, but August 19 is one of the days in the calendar that is dear to me. I’d rather remember it for lots of good memories rather than dwell on something negative.