With solemn vigils and shows of reconciliation, Crown Heights yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the death of 7-year-old Gavin Cato and the bloody rioting that scarred the city in its aftermath.
Many hoped the day would help show how far the divided neighborhood – split between black and Hasidic residents – has come in an effort to heal its wounds.
“In 1991, a great child was taken away form the Cato family,” said a stern Carmel Cato, Gavin’s father, who attended a memorial vigil at the spot where his son was run over.
He said he started the day with a visit to his son’s grave.
The father acknowledged that there have been “a lot of changes” in Crown Heights since the riots, but said he has never recovered from the loss of his son.
“I still need help dealing with this situation. Sometimes, I feel like I’m just hanging in there,” he said.
Gavin’s grandmother Albertha Cato, 73, said, “I’m sick within my heart. There’s no progress. It’s more painful.”
Referring to the driver of the car that struck Gavin, Yosef Lifsh – who has since moved to Israel – she said, “I was really hoping that today the driver . . . would come up and say I’m sorry.”
About 60 African-American residents of Crown Heights attended the vigil at the corner of Utica Avenue and President Street, where the fatal accident occurred.
“It looks like things have changed a little bit,” said Shavonnie Reeves, 30. “There’s not as much crime, and there’s not as much anger.”
But for others, the fury of 10 years ago was still very current.
“Not a damn thing has changed,” said Maleewi Colter, 33, who lives in Crown Heights.
“They’ve still got the money, they’ve still got the power.”
The Rev. Herbert Daughtry spoke to the crowd, charging that the old inequalities still exist.
“If you’re 10 percent of the community and you get 90 percent of the goods and services, that’s an apartheid situation,” Daughtry said, referring to the neighborhood’s Hasidic residents.
“I don’t know what’s been going on in Crown Heights. I hear that people have been smiling at one another,” Daughtry went on.
“It’s not about smiling at one another. The situation in Crown Heights has always been about power.”With Post Wire Services