ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The prosecution advanced sufficient race-neutral explanations for exercising peremptory challenges against the prospective jurors in question (see People v. Payne, 88 N.Y.2d 172, 183; People v. Allen, 86 N.Y.2d 101). The defendant failed to satisfy his burden of proving that the explanations given by the prosecutor were pretextual (see People v. Payne, supra; People v. White, 289 A.D.2d 270; see generally Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 364-365). Accordingly, the trial court properly denied the defendant's Batson challenge (see Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79).
The sentence imposed was not excessive (see People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).
S. MILLER, J.P., CRANE, COZIER and RIVERA, JJ., concur.