Staten Island , New York ( CNN ) -- On a chilly morning after thousands took to the streets to protest yet another grand jury 's refusal to indict a white police officer for killing an unarmed black man , tourists vied for spots on the Staten Island Ferry to photograph the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island . The ferry is the only way to get from lower Manhattan -- without a car , of course -- to the north shore of New York 's least populated and whitest borough . On the other side of the harbor , just blocks from the ferry terminal , is Tompkinsville , the neighborhood where Eric Garner lived and died . Garner , 43 , was a father of six and a grandfather . He died July 17 after police Officer Daniel Pantaleo tackled him to the ground in a department-banned chokehold during an arrest for selling cigarettes illegally . Garner 's death occurred weeks before Ferguson , Missouri , Police Officer Darren Wilson shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown to death on August 9 . A St. Louis County grand jury last week declined to indict Wilson , setting off days of unrest . On the journey from Manhattan , where hordes of protesters stopped traffic on Wednesday and Thursday , to the Staten Island street where Garner was killed , people were asked three questions . What do the deaths of Brown and Garner say about race in America ? How would your life be different if you were of a different race or class ? Do you believe justice is colorblind ? Enoch Karim and his daughter Takeya sat on the Staten Island-bound ferry , watching tourists snap photos of the Statue of Liberty . The United States is not all it 's made out to be , Karim said . The grand jury decision to not indict Pantaleo was not unexpected . `` We 've become desensitized to these murders , '' said Karim , whose son was friends with Garner , known in the neighborhood as `` Big E. '' `` It 's business as usual in America . '' `` It 's bad , '' his 14-year-old daughter said . `` We die and they do n't do anything about it . '' Karim said his son and Garner sold `` loosie '' cigarettes to make a few dollars `` instead of stealing . '' His son saw Garner die , he said . `` He said , 'Dad , I had to walk away . They killed Big E and I could n't do anything about it . ' `` Asked if life would be different if his race was different , Karim smiled . `` It 's called the privileged race , '' he said . `` I 'd probably be president . '' Johannes Morken and his wife , May , on Wednesday stood near Rockefeller Center in Manhattan . They watched hundreds of protesters on the streets . On Thursday , waiting for the ferry , the couple visiting from Norway read a front-page newspaper article about the protests . `` Both these two guys are black and they were killed for small crimes , '' said Johannes Morken . `` Police use tough measures against unarmed black people . It looks like white policemen are trained to act like that . '' `` Racism is more of a problem than we hoped it would be , '' he added . Garner 's father , Ben Carr , has been holding an almost daily vigil near the makeshift shrine at the spot where his son died . `` I just want to make sure that people come here to honor and remember my son , '' he said . `` No violence . We live here . '' Rage was on display on the streets of New York , but there was none of the looting and violence seen in Ferguson . To Twan Scholar , who knew Garner for 25 years , the sidewalk where his friend died is sacred ground . So many young black men are dying , he said . `` The government worries about all these other countries , but what about folks being killed by the police on our streets ? '' he asked . Rodney Lee , who is Korean , has run Bay Beauty Supply on Bay Street for 15 years . As Pantaleo grabbed Garner in a chokehold , the officer and the man he took down nearly crashed through the window of Lee 's shop . A memorial of white flowers , handwritten notes and burning candles marks the spot on a sidewalk where Garner uttered his last words : `` I ca n't breathe . I ca n't breathe . '' `` Why do we have to be scared of the cops ? '' Lee asked . Katie McCarthy has owned Book CafÃ© on Bay Street for three decades . She looked down the street at the people gathered around Garner 's memorial and lamented that America was far from guaranteeing `` equal justice for all . '' Outside a pharmacy on Victory Boulevard , Loretta Bevilacqua said the Garner case was not about race . Though Staten Island is more than three-quarters white , the north shore is more diverse . `` It 's sad what happened but most people here get along , '' she said . The borough -- the only one not reachable by the city 's subway system -- is home to many firefighters and police officers . On September 11 , 2001 , more than 250 Staten Islanders died when the World Trade Center towers fell . `` Justice is colorblind , '' Bevilacqua said . `` A lot of people do n't care about race . But there are always some people who are prejudiced . ''
Manhattan is the Ellis Island neighborhood where Lee lived and died . His friends and neighbors share their thoughts with Garner . CNN 's father wants people to honor his son ; `` No violence . We live here ''