Identity Politics Rears Its Ugly Head in Borough Park
As much as everyone would love to think that the divisive identity politics in New York City are relics of the past, Tuesday night (April 4th) provided the latest example that identity politics are alive and well, even if it is not as powerful as it once was.
That Tuesday night, Borough Park in Brooklyn witnessed a riot by the Hasidic Jewish community, albeit brief and small. The riot was sparked by the arrest of an elderly man during a traffic stop. That in itself would be nothing remarkable. However, there are accusations that the police treated the man harshly and, as City Councilman Simcha Felder said, that Joseph Esposito, the top officer in the area, was shouting "Get the fucking Jews out of here!"
The Gotham Gazette's Wonkster collected viewpoints from various parties regarding the riot. In addition to Felder's accusation, he also remarked in the New York Post that "we will bring witnesses upon witnesses upon witnesses to confirm what he said. If they try to push this under the rug, they are in for a rude awakening."
However, most of those voicing an opinion condemned the riot. The New York Daily News defended the cops of the 66th Precinct in its editorial.
"If anything, the people of Borough Park should be thanking the 66th Precinct for making their neighborhood far safer."
The Post also wrote in defense of the police.
"For hours on end, hundreds of people ignored orders to disperse and go home. Instead, they lit bonfires in the middle of busy 16th Avenue, torched one police car, smashed the windows of another and angrily taunted cops. Police showed admirable restraint in the face of such provocation."
The Yeshiva World Blog took a moderate position, suggesting that Esposito should be suspended while an investigation questions all of the witnesses that Felder said heard the officer make an anti-Semitic comment.
However, the New York Times noted that city officials were facing questions as to why only three people were arrested during the riot.
Councilman Charles Barron knows the answer and manages to inject his race into the debate.
"If that was in a black community there would have been mass arrests and there would have been mass butt-whipping."
Charles Barron seems to be into S&M.
He might have had a point if the Borough Park riot had approached the carnage of one of his hero's riots, those started by Sonny Carson. Maybe Barron would have been less disappointed had the NYPD fired at the crowd of Borough Park residents.
But if you listened to Assemblyman Dov Hikind, you might have thought that the police did take measures that would have made Barron happy.
"“This is not the intifada in Ramallah in the Middle East …. There were young people out of control and, unfortunately, the [police] tactics used literally contributed to a situation that became more out of control,” he said.
Really?
Newsday says otherwise in this early morning's story, one week after the riot.
A week after rioters in Borough Park set more than 20 fires -- including one inside a patrol car -- vandalized another police vehicle and grabbed a sergeant, possibly in an attempt to take his gun, police have not made any arrests beyond the three that first night.
The incident between the Hasidic community and police picked up steam a day later, with accusations of racial insensitivity lobbed at a top chief and a plainclothes officer.
The controversy has died down since, but several police sources said the arrests the night of the riot seem more and more like window dressing. They said that, if the clash had happened in another community, there would have been a more aggressive response.
If the accusations about the police are true, then there is no excuse for what the offending officers have done. And for the actions that are definitely true, those that took place during the riot, there is definitely no excuse for those actions either.
Perhaps for the sake of peace and given that it's already one week after, the police may instead try to mend the relationship with the community rather than seek revenge. However, the police do seem to have been too lax. Given the scale of this riot and that police property (and perhaps personnel) were damaged, there should have been a more forceful response. This community, or any others for that matter, should not have a free pass to riot like they did that night. There should not be a riot every time there is an accusation of a few cops behaving badly. They can work with the police to ensure that such things do not happen again, otherwise, they have their representatives in government and their strength in numbers to peacefully seek change.
Otherwise, their own credibility is burned in the bonfire.
(All mentions of newspapers and blogs that were not linked to have links in the Wonkster's post.)
That Tuesday night, Borough Park in Brooklyn witnessed a riot by the Hasidic Jewish community, albeit brief and small. The riot was sparked by the arrest of an elderly man during a traffic stop. That in itself would be nothing remarkable. However, there are accusations that the police treated the man harshly and, as City Councilman Simcha Felder said, that Joseph Esposito, the top officer in the area, was shouting "Get the fucking Jews out of here!"
The Gotham Gazette's Wonkster collected viewpoints from various parties regarding the riot. In addition to Felder's accusation, he also remarked in the New York Post that "we will bring witnesses upon witnesses upon witnesses to confirm what he said. If they try to push this under the rug, they are in for a rude awakening."
However, most of those voicing an opinion condemned the riot. The New York Daily News defended the cops of the 66th Precinct in its editorial.
"If anything, the people of Borough Park should be thanking the 66th Precinct for making their neighborhood far safer."
The Post also wrote in defense of the police.
"For hours on end, hundreds of people ignored orders to disperse and go home. Instead, they lit bonfires in the middle of busy 16th Avenue, torched one police car, smashed the windows of another and angrily taunted cops. Police showed admirable restraint in the face of such provocation."
The Yeshiva World Blog took a moderate position, suggesting that Esposito should be suspended while an investigation questions all of the witnesses that Felder said heard the officer make an anti-Semitic comment.
However, the New York Times noted that city officials were facing questions as to why only three people were arrested during the riot.
Councilman Charles Barron knows the answer and manages to inject his race into the debate.
"If that was in a black community there would have been mass arrests and there would have been mass butt-whipping."
Charles Barron seems to be into S&M.
He might have had a point if the Borough Park riot had approached the carnage of one of his hero's riots, those started by Sonny Carson. Maybe Barron would have been less disappointed had the NYPD fired at the crowd of Borough Park residents.
But if you listened to Assemblyman Dov Hikind, you might have thought that the police did take measures that would have made Barron happy.
"“This is not the intifada in Ramallah in the Middle East …. There were young people out of control and, unfortunately, the [police] tactics used literally contributed to a situation that became more out of control,” he said.
Really?
Newsday says otherwise in this early morning's story, one week after the riot.
A week after rioters in Borough Park set more than 20 fires -- including one inside a patrol car -- vandalized another police vehicle and grabbed a sergeant, possibly in an attempt to take his gun, police have not made any arrests beyond the three that first night.
The incident between the Hasidic community and police picked up steam a day later, with accusations of racial insensitivity lobbed at a top chief and a plainclothes officer.
The controversy has died down since, but several police sources said the arrests the night of the riot seem more and more like window dressing. They said that, if the clash had happened in another community, there would have been a more aggressive response.
If the accusations about the police are true, then there is no excuse for what the offending officers have done. And for the actions that are definitely true, those that took place during the riot, there is definitely no excuse for those actions either.
Perhaps for the sake of peace and given that it's already one week after, the police may instead try to mend the relationship with the community rather than seek revenge. However, the police do seem to have been too lax. Given the scale of this riot and that police property (and perhaps personnel) were damaged, there should have been a more forceful response. This community, or any others for that matter, should not have a free pass to riot like they did that night. There should not be a riot every time there is an accusation of a few cops behaving badly. They can work with the police to ensure that such things do not happen again, otherwise, they have their representatives in government and their strength in numbers to peacefully seek change.
Otherwise, their own credibility is burned in the bonfire.
(All mentions of newspapers and blogs that were not linked to have links in the Wonkster's post.)
posted by Will at 1:14 AM
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