Mayor Adams dismissed the notion Tuesday that Hassan Naveed, his former director of hate crime prevention, was fired for being Muslim, suggesting instead that Naveed got shown the door for performance-related reasons.
“You’re given a responsibility in a role, you’re in charge of hate crimes. I’m seeing an increase in hate crimes,” Adams said at City Hall when asked why Naveed was terminated April 16. “People have to live up to what they’re hired to do, taxpayers deserve that.”
Naveed, who was appointed in October 2022 to serve as Adams’ executive director of the Hate Crimes Prevention Office, told the Daily News on Friday that he was not given a reason for his firing. He also said he’s convinced he was axed for being Muslim and has retained a lawyer to file a legal claim against Adams’ administration alleging discrimination.
In Tuesday’s news conference, Adams also pushed back against Naveed’s discrimination allegation. “To believe that you’re fired because you’re Muslim, as many as Muslim staffers that I have?” said Adams.
Naveed declined to immediately comment on Adams’ remarks.
Hate crimes against Jews and Muslims have surged in the city since the Israel-Hamas war broke out last fall following the terror attacks of Oct. 7. As of April 14, there had been 96 reported anti-Semitic hate crimes this year, a 45% uptick compared with the same time frame in 2023, and nine reported Islamophobic hate crimes, compared with just one in the same span in 2023, NYPD data show.
On the flip side, Adams’ administration has slashed funding from the Office of Criminal Justice, which houses Naveed’s former unit. Budget documents show the administration has cut $247,000 from the Criminal Justice Office in the current fiscal year and plans to slash an additional $40.8 million next fiscal year, which starts July 1.
At the Hate Crimes Prevention Office specifically, the administration has permanently eliminated three of seven full-time positions as part of cost-cutting measures, sources familiar with the matter said. Two of the remaining four positions remain vacant, the sources said, and while Naveed was still there, the staff included only himself and his deputy, the office’s website shows.
Adams spokesmen didn’t immediately return a request for comment on how the office’s work might have been affected by the staff levels.
When he first appointed Naveed in October 2022, Adams issued a press release calling him “a dedicated, compassionate leader who has a strong track record of bringing communities together.” The same press release quoted Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks, who oversees Naveed’s ex-office, as calling him “a leader in hate crime prevention.”
Naveed’s ouster comes amid a wider shakeup across the administration that also includes a push by Banks to remove Arva Rice, Adams’ interim chairwoman of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates misconduct by NYPD officers.
Asked about Rice, Adams confirmed Tuesday he has offered her the chance to stay at the CCRB as long as she resigns her chairwoman post — a proposal first reported by The News last week. He stressed he wants someone else at the helm besides Rice, who has been openly critical of NYPD leadership over multiple issues.
“She has good advice, we want you to be there,” he said, “but I want my chair.”
