In reading Henry Goldschmidt’s account of the events of August 1991 in Crown Heights, I am struck by one particular passage that perhaps can serve to summarize the reactions of Black Crown Heights residents. As part of his attempt to provide an impartial recounting of the events of August 19, 1991, Goldschmidt mentions that two ambulances appeared on the scene within minutes of each other – one was a Hatzoloh ambulance and the other a NY EMS ambulance. He continues to describe the events as follows: “The EMS paramedics treated the gravely injured Cato children on the spot, while the Hatzoloh paramedics brought the mildly injured driver and passengers to a nearby hospital.” This factoid and its interpretation by members of the Crown Heights Black community, seem to be at the heart of the events that ensued. Many Black residents of Crown Heights perceived this as just another case of mistreatment or discrimination by Whites. The claim was made that the White people in the car received better or faster medical care. The situation deteriorated rapidly. Many witnesses claim that the Hatzoloh ambulance which arrived on the scene one or two minutes before any other ambulances, completely ignored the Black children even though their medical status was critical. Instead the Hatzoloh team focused on helping the Chasidim in the car that struck the Cato children. Al Sharpton highlighted the ambulance episode in his eulogy for Gavin Cato, referring to the “apartheid ambulance service in the middle of Crown Heights.”
The fact that the Lubavitch Rebbe’s motorcade routinely had a police escort was seen as another instance of “preferential treatment.” People in the crowd were overhead saying that the Lubavitch Chasidim in the neighborhood were able to do whatever they want and get away with it. Each of these allegations bolstered the argument of rampant social inequalities for the Black community of Crown Heights. Goldschmidt notes that these events cited “the Lubavitch Hasidim as the latest in a long line of White communities wielding unjust, state-sponsored power over the lives and deaths of their Black neighbors.
I know that there is another side to this coin – explanations by the Lubavitch as to why the Hatzoloh ambulance removed the Chasidim from the accident scene; arguments that the driver entered the intersection on a yellow (not red) light and that he was not speeding. I am familiar with the Lubavitch position that the death of Gavin Cato was a tragic car accident without any other political or social meaning. Reading the thoughts and perceptions of members of the Black community of Crown Heights, helped me attempt to gain an objective understanding of the events and violence of August 1991. I will probably be no more successful than either of the two groups involved at being completely objective.
