Those same historians also cite controversial and racist statements uttered by Carson during the racially-charged New York teacher's strike of 1968, and more recently, in the 1990's, that have stuck in the public consciousness. In 1990, during a Carson-led boycott of one Korean grocery store, he had reportedly told Black Brooklynites to "not shop with people who do not look like us." Those who did cross the picket line were reportedly spat on by Carson backers. In 1991, Carson reportedly hailed the Crowd Heights lynch mob responsible for the death of Yankel Rosenbaum, a visiting Hasidic scholar from Australia. Carson was quoted as "being very proud" of what had happened. The Carson brouhaha over the street renaming reignited those memories of the 1990's during one of New York's most intense periods of racial tension.

The City Council measure was voted down along racial lines, with 25 mostly white councilmembers voting to prevent Carson's name from being added to the list, while just 15 councilmembers who voted yes thought it should. Hours after the noisy and tension-filled vote, Comrie was given additional police protection after another councilmember's top aide had alledgedly called for the end of his career-- even "if it takes an assassination of his ass." Strong words and deep passion, indeed.