Mayor Adams Accused of Anti-Muslim Bias in Lawsuit Over Termination
In a stunning revelation, former Mayor Eric Adams is being sued over allegations of anti-Muslim bias by a former hate crimes prevention director. The lawsuit claims that Adams used derogatory language to compare pro-Palestine protests to Ku Klux Klan rallies during a private meeting with city employees.
The suit was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court late Tuesday night by Hassan Naveed, who was fired from his City Hall post in April 2024 after a contentious tenure as director of the office for the prevention of hate crimes. The lawsuit seeks at least $1 million in damages from Adams and several other senior officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff Menashe Shapiro, Community Affairs Commissioner Fred Kriezman, and senior adviser Joel Eisdorfer.
According to the suit, Naveed met privately with Adams on October 23, 2023, to express concerns about anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian rhetoric that administration officials had used in the wake of a Hamas attack. During the meeting, an unidentified city employee reportedly expressed feeling "dehumanized" due to such language from City Hall.
Adams allegedly responded by saying Muslims had failed to adequately condemn Hamas, and that they were too busy organizing protests for Palestine. He also made remarks comparing pro-Palestine protests to Ku Klux Klan rallies, according to the suit.
Naveed alleges that this behavior was part of a "long pattern" of Adams and his senior advisers engaging in discriminatory conduct against Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians, and those perceived to be affiliated with these identities.
However, Adams' spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak disputed Naveed's characterization of his firing. She claimed that the former director was let go for poor job performance, contradicting the suit's claims that he was terminated due to discriminatory reasons.
This lawsuit marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in New York City government. If proven true, Adams' actions would be seen as a serious breach of trust and an example of a systemic problem in City Hall.
The case has sparked heated debate inside City Hall, with some officials distancing themselves from Adams' remarks. However, others have defended him, saying that his comments were taken out of context or exaggerated.
As the investigation unfolds, it remains to be seen whether Adams will face consequences for his alleged actions.
In a stunning revelation, former Mayor Eric Adams is being sued over allegations of anti-Muslim bias by a former hate crimes prevention director. The lawsuit claims that Adams used derogatory language to compare pro-Palestine protests to Ku Klux Klan rallies during a private meeting with city employees.
The suit was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court late Tuesday night by Hassan Naveed, who was fired from his City Hall post in April 2024 after a contentious tenure as director of the office for the prevention of hate crimes. The lawsuit seeks at least $1 million in damages from Adams and several other senior officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff Menashe Shapiro, Community Affairs Commissioner Fred Kriezman, and senior adviser Joel Eisdorfer.
According to the suit, Naveed met privately with Adams on October 23, 2023, to express concerns about anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian rhetoric that administration officials had used in the wake of a Hamas attack. During the meeting, an unidentified city employee reportedly expressed feeling "dehumanized" due to such language from City Hall.
Adams allegedly responded by saying Muslims had failed to adequately condemn Hamas, and that they were too busy organizing protests for Palestine. He also made remarks comparing pro-Palestine protests to Ku Klux Klan rallies, according to the suit.
Naveed alleges that this behavior was part of a "long pattern" of Adams and his senior advisers engaging in discriminatory conduct against Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians, and those perceived to be affiliated with these identities.
However, Adams' spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak disputed Naveed's characterization of his firing. She claimed that the former director was let go for poor job performance, contradicting the suit's claims that he was terminated due to discriminatory reasons.
This lawsuit marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in New York City government. If proven true, Adams' actions would be seen as a serious breach of trust and an example of a systemic problem in City Hall.
The case has sparked heated debate inside City Hall, with some officials distancing themselves from Adams' remarks. However, others have defended him, saying that his comments were taken out of context or exaggerated.
As the investigation unfolds, it remains to be seen whether Adams will face consequences for his alleged actions.
. I mean, how can someone in a position of power hold such hate-filled views and then expect everything to just go back to normal? It's like, hello! We're living in 2025, we've come so far from that kind of rhetoric.
It seems like Adams is trying to deflect by saying Naveed was a poor performer, but let's be real, if this guy was doing his job right, he wouldn't need to be terminated over some stupid comment. This whole thing just reeks of systemic problems in City Hall and the lack of accountability from people in power. Can't we all just get along? 
. If true, Mayor Adams' comments were super hurtful and discriminatory towards Muslims and Arabs. It's not okay to compare pro-Palestine protests to Ku Klux Klan rallies, that's like, a huge red flag 
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. Like, shouldn't we be encouraging people to speak out against hate and discrimination? It seems like there's some serious systemic issues going on in City Hall right now 
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. That just sounds like a total cop-out to me. I'm definitely keeping an eye on this case, it could be really telling about the state of politics in NYC 
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this is so sad... i just can't believe our mayor would use language like that in a private meeting. it's not just about what he said, it's about how it made people feel 
- imagine being in that meeting and feeling super uncomfortable because some1 u trust says muslims r all supporting terrorism 
and then compares ppl protesting for palestine to ku klux klan rallies?? 
i think this lawsuit needs 2 move forward ASAP so we can figure out what really happened. 
️ where we r all about being inclusive but sometimes it feels like we r not doin enough 
. I mean, I'm all for free speech and all, but using derogatory language to compare pro-Palestine protests to Ku Klux Klan rallies? That's just not cool 
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. If Adams' spokeswoman is saying that he got let go for poor job performance, then why did she wait until now to file a lawsuit? It feels like this whole thing was just a PR stunt to distract from something else 
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it's all about context and who gets hurt by those words. i'm all for free speech, but not at the expense of our fellow citizens' feelings and safety