Overview

• The group Crown Heights Bites Back announced a Tuesday vigil at Utica Avenue and President Street invoking the 1991 car crash that killed 7-year-old Gavin Cato.
• Council Member Crystal Hudson, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, and Assemblymember Brian Cunningham issued a joint statement calling the planned event antisemitic and divisive.
• Officials said the event flyer uses false anti-Jewish rhetoric and cited the group’s history of inflammatory statements about Chabad-Lubavitch.
• The NYPD said it is aware of the plan, and the Jewish Future Alliance warned the gathering risks exploiting the tragedy and fueling violence.
• The plan follows an April protest by the same group with racial messaging and comes shortly after unity events and a mass shooting referenced by local officials.