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NYC remembers dark chapter of Crown Heights race riot

FILE - In this Aug. 21, 1991, file photo, New York Police Department officers, in riot gear, walk past a police car that was overturned by rioters in the Crown Heights section of the Brooklyn borough of New York. A plan to mark the 25th anniversary of the Crown Heights riot with a family-friendly street festival has drawn criticism from the brother of a rabbinical student who suffered a fatal knife wound during the unrest. Organizers say the idea of the festival is to foster a sense of unity in the neighborhood. (AP Photo/David Burns, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 21, 1991, file photo, New York Police Department officers, in riot gear, walk past a police car that was overturned by rioters in the Crown Heights section of the Brooklyn borough of New York. A plan to mark the 25th anniversary of the Crown Heights riot with a family-friendly street festival has drawn criticism from the brother of a rabbinical student who suffered a fatal knife wound during the unrest. Organizers say the idea of the festival is to foster a sense of unity in the neighborhood. (AP Photo/David Burns, File) FILE - In this Aug. 21, 1991, file photo, New York Police Department officers, in riot gear, walk past a police car that was overturned by rioters in the Crown Heights section of the Brooklyn borough of New York. A plan to mark the 25th anniversary of the Crown Heights riot with a family-friendly street festival has drawn criticism from the brother of a rabbinical student who suffered a fatal knife wound during the unrest. Organizers say the idea of the festival is to foster a sense of unity in the neighborhood. (AP Photo/David Burns, File)

By Associated Press 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – About three dozen people have marched through the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights following a memorial service marking the 25th anniversary of one of New York City’s darkest chapters.

The 1991 race riot in the Crown Heights neighborhood started after Gavin Cato, a 7-year-old black boy, was hit and killed by a car in a rabbi’s motorcade. Hours later, a Jewish doctoral student, Yankel Rosenbaum, was stabbed to death. Four days of violence followed.

The neighborhood is holding a series of anniversary events Sunday as part of “One Crown Heights.” One of the events, a festival, has been criticized by Rosenbaum’s family as being insensitive and trivializing what happened.

Cato’s father, Carmel, said the neighborhood has become more accepting in the last two decades. He said he’s disappointed Rosenbaum’s brother didn’t attend the event.