Within the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror assault on Israel, Mayor Adams privately in contrast pro-Palestine protests to Ku Klux Klan rallies, claims a brand new lawsuit accusing him and different members of his administration of discriminating in opposition to Muslim staff.
The go well with was filed in Manhattan Supreme Courtroom late Tuesday evening by Hassan Naveed, Adams’ ex-director of hate crimes prevention who was fired from his Metropolis Corridor submit in April 2024. The go well with asks for damages of at the very least $1 million.
Naveed, who’s Muslim, alleges Adams drew the comparability between pro-Palestine actions and KKK rallies throughout a personal assembly with him and different metropolis staff in late October 2023.
Within the go well with, Naveed alleges that incident was a part of “a long pattern” of Adams and his senior advisers participating in “discriminatory conduct against Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians and those perceived to be affiliated with these identities.”
Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak disputed Naveed’s characterization of his firing.
“This individual was an at-will employee who was let go for poor job performance — plain and simple — and not terminated because of his identity, religion, or views. Any suggestion otherwise is absurd,” mentioned Mamelak, whose boss is leaving workplace on Jan. 1, having deserted his bid for reelection.
“We will respond in court, where we are confident these claims will be disproven.”
Naveed’s go well with alleges anti-Muslim sentiment within the higher ranks of the Adams administration turned “particularly pronounced” after Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault, which killed roughly 1,200 individuals and prompted Israel to launch its battle in Gaza, which has left greater than 65,000 Palestinians lifeless, in line with the Gaza Well being Ministry.
Naveed, who was answerable for serving to oversee the town’s hate crimes prevention applications, alleges, for instance, that his group in late 2023 offered Adams’ workplace with a draft press launch mentioning the necessity to ramp up psychological well being sources for New Yorkers impacted by the battle within the Center East, whether or not they be Israeli or Palestinian.
Hassan Naveed speaks at Metropolis Corridor in June 2023. (Ed Reed / NYC Mayor’s Workplace)
Naveed’s go well with says he had on the time been particularly troubled by Deputy Chief of Workers Menashe Shapiro, Neighborhood Affairs Commissioner Fred Kriezman and senior adviser Joel Eisdorfer amplifying “anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian” posts on social media, together with a name for the necessity to “clear out Gaza.”
On the prime of the assembly, the go well with says an unidentified metropolis worker of Palestinian descent advised Adams she had by no means felt “more dehumanized, devalued and without a voice” as a result of “anti-Palestinian rhetoric coming from City Hall.”
In response, Adams advised attendees he believed Muslims had been going through “hate because Muslims, as a community, had failed to adequately condemn Hamas,” in line with Naveed’s go well with.
After lamenting there had been no “solid” Muslim group voice condemning Hamas, Adams advised contributors he believed Muslims “were too busy organizing protests for Palestine,” the courtroom papers say.
“He compared these protests to ‘Ku Klux Klan’ protests,” the go well with continued. At one level within the assembly, the go well with claims Adams said: “I don’t know the difference between a Palestinian, Pakestinian [sic], Arab, Muslim, I have no idea.”
Mayor Eric Adams is pictured throughout a press convention at Metropolis Corridor Blue Room on Tuesday, Might 21, 2024. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Day by day Information)
After the Oct. 7 assault, Naveed was additionally sidelined from attending Metropolis Corridor conferences the place hate crime prevention efforts have been being mentioned, in line with the go well with. He claimed the administration tried on a number of events to cancel metropolis funding for native nonprofits advocating for Palestinian rights as nicely.
Along with Adams, Naveed’s go well with names Candice Julien, his former direct supervisor, and her chief of workers, Nora Daniel, as defendants, alleging they participated within the discrimination in opposition to him, partly by informing him on April 16, 2024 he had been fired.
They advised him he was being let go for failing to file an annual report, however Naveed alleges he had submitted that doc on time and that they got here up with the false pretense to masks the precise, discriminatory motive for his termination.
Along with alleging his firing was the results of discrimination, Naveed says Adams defamed him by claiming in spring 2024 that he was fired for not performing his job nicely.
