Family Red Apple boycott

"[3] It began in January 1990[4] with a Korean-American-owned shop called Family Red Apple at 1823 Church Avenue in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn and extended to other stores, both within and beyond the original neighborhood.

[3] The boycott coincided with the economic downturn and recession that had exacerbated poverty, crime and drug use in underprivileged New York neighborhoods during the first half of the 1990s.

The racially-motivated boycott presaged the Crown Heights riot the following year, which further compromised relations between Jewish-American and African-American communities in the borough, and diminished support for mayor David Dinkins' tenure in the city.

As early as 1991, the Family Red Apple boycott ended amicably, with a "steady stream of customers" frequenting the Korean-owned grocery store after the previous owner relinquished his lease.

[10] A New York City judge, Gerald S. Held, issued an order barring the demonstrators from picketing within 50 feet (15 metres) of the Korean stores.

I was prepared to mediate the dispute, but I suspected my presence would not have helped at that juncture....In this instance I believed that my participation would do more harm than good.

"[15] He also wrote, "It may well be that I waited an overly long time to take this step, but I had faith in the court system and in the rational ability of people to come to satisfactory conclusions among themselves.