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Brooklyn Councilman Vincent Gentile, the Democratic candidate for Congress, says he plans to make the death of Eric Garner an issue in the race against Republican District Attorney Daniel Donovan. (Advance file photo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Democrat Councilman Vincent Gentile said he'll make the death of Eric Garner an issue in the borough's special congressional election, contending "chaos broke out on the streets of Staten Island" after the grand jury decided not to hand down an indictment in the case.

Gentile, who's running against Republican Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan for the congressional seat, made his statements in an appearance on former mayoral hopeful John Catsimatidis' radio show Sunday morning.

When Catsimatidis asked Gentile if Garner would become an issue in the race, Gentile said, "First of all, we don't know what happened during the proceedings and that's why I've called for the transcripts be released."

He added, "After the decision of the grand jury, it was incumbent upon Dan Donovan to come before the people of Staten Island and be present, be public, speak about the process, speak about how the grand jury operates. He did none of that.

"He put out a press release on a Friday afternoon, giving us the results of the grand jury decision, and then when chaos broke out on the streets of Staten Island and elsewhere, Dan Donovan was nowhere to be seen. He was in his rose garden."

The full interview, which aired on "The Cats Roundtable" on AM 970 The Answer, can be found here, with the remarks about the Garner case starting at about the 6 minute 30 second mark.

A Staten Island grand jury decided on Wednesday, Dec. 3, not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo for Garner's July 17 death.

After the decision, protesters gathered in Manhattan for several days of protests, resulting in some violence and several arrests, but those protesters largely stayed off Staten Island.

A small group of protesters gathered peacefully on Bay Street in Tompkinsville the night of the grand jury decision.

On Monday, Dec. 8, a small group of protesters blocked the Staten Island Expressway for seven minutes, but left before police arrived.

When asked about which specific incidents Gentile was referencing by saying "chaos broke out on the streets of Staten Island," his spokesman, Justin Brannan, said, "The Councilman was making a general reference to the various protests and demonstrations in the streets of New York City including Staten Island in the aftermath of the grand jury decision."

Donovan spokeswoman Jessica Proud criticized Gentile for bringing up Garner. "For someone seeking a job making laws, he's showing an incredible lack of understanding of them," she said, referring to grand jury secrecy laws. "It's an embarrassing lack of understanding, and it's shameful if he wants to exploit this for the campaign."

Gentile also spoke about wanting to bring federal funding to Staten Island for projects like the raising of the Bayonne Bridge, and said the federal government waited too long to provide money for Hurricane Sandy relief.

Gentile and Donovan are running to fill the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Michael Grimm, who awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to federal tax fraud in December.

The special election is scheduled for May 5.