At the surface, various racial tensions of New York City in the past may appear to have been fragmented and disconnected events that reflected ultimately the hatred of specific individuals. But there’s more to the stories. As follows, these tensions were most poignantly evident in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn in the 1980s and 90s: the paralleled death of Michael Griffith (1986) and attack on Glenn Moore (2006) in Howard Beach [Queens], the riots in Crown Heights [1991 – Brooklyn], and the death of Yusuf Hawkins in Bensonhurst [1989 – Brooklyn]. Each event here paints a stark picture of what NYC used to be, and might still be today. However, as we delve deeper into the causes of these events, carefully researching the demographics and historical analysis, we find that all these seemingly fragmented events are connected by the greater, underlying problem of contested turf.
What is contested turf though? For our analysis, we looked at the problem of contested turf not as a problem of turf war or gang violence, but rather as the every day problem of a racially and ethnically polarized city. For decades this city has been governed by corrupt practices of racial discrimination and unequal economic and social opportunities. Corrupt bank loan policies, the practice of redlining neighborhoods by the Home Owners Loan Corporation seem like distant memories from the mid-1900’s, but the reality of their prevalence in the NYC of today is undeniable. NYC exists as a city polarized along the lines of race and ethnicity. The corrupt practices post-1970s fiscal crisis has seen to the establishment of historically ethnic and racial niches, pockets of dominantly white upper/middle class communities existing alongside minority dominated middle/lower class neighborhoods.
The unchanging demographics of communities like Howard Beach and Bensonhurst (predominantly Italian white communities in the 1980’s) and Crown Heights (largely African American) has subconsciously created an uneasy sentiment towards ethnic/racial outsiders. The friction that emerges when a ethnically dominant community deals with members of an outsider/minority population is precisely the aspect of contested turf which we try to understand through our analysis of Crown Heights, Bensonhurst, and Howard Beach.
Looking at the maps above, we can see that contested turf is a problem that has manifested as a result of racial discrimination, highlighting the complexity of an issue that is institutionalized in government.
The problem of contested turf is not one that has spontaneously emerged, it is one that has taken decades to create. Integrating societies and harboring a welcoming sentiment towards the ethnic and racial minorities of a city will take a lot more than government intervention, it will require the citizens of the city to change their mentality and outlook towards racially different citizens. The solution is, as the saying goes, a lot easier said than done however. How do you undo a problem that has been created from centuries of racist sentiment? The problem is truly complex, but perhaps we as New Yorkers can tackle it one turf at a time.
