Mayor Adams announced Friday he has named a new head of City Hall’s hate crimes prevention office, more than eight months after firing his predecessor in a move that touched off a claim of discrimination.
Adams’ appointment of Vijah Ramjattan, a mental health expert and faith leader, to become his new hate crimes prevention executive director was initially mentioned in an “achievements in 2024” press release posted on the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice website Dec. 20. On Friday morning, Adams formally announced the pick in a statement saying Ramjattan’s diverse resume makes him perfect for the job.
“Vijah’s decade worth experience in community engagement, advocacy in marginalized communities, and mental health counseling makes him uniquely qualified to hit the ground running and combat hate crimes,” Adams said.
Ramjattan replaces Naveed Hassan, who was fired April 18.
After the firing, Hassan told the Daily News he believes his termination was the result of religious-based workplace discrimination due to his Muslim faith. Hassan has since filed a notice of claim outlining how he plans to sue Adams’ administration for discrimination and the mayor himself for defamation over comments he made about Hassan following his axing.
Ramjattan, who’s Hindu and helps run several interfaith groups, most recently worked as a clinical research administrator for the state’s Psychiatric Institute-Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene. Until last month, he was also president of a Queens school board that recently attracted controversy after one of its members made social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war that some criticized as hateful.
Previously, Ramjattan worked for the Department of Correction as a grievance coordinator on Rikers Island. From his Rikers experiences, he became a prominent advocate for shuttering the beleaguered jail and was among the activists who helped push the City Council to pass a plan in 2019 requiring the island lockup be permanently closed by 2027.
“I saw first-hand what happens there … We are pro-rehab and against a punitive system to correct unlawfulness. We advocate for the closing of Rikers,” Ramjattan was quoted as saying in an Oct. 17, 2019 Council press release about the Close Rikers plan.
Adams has recently voiced scepticism about the Close Rikers plan, saying the borough-based jails meant to replace the island jails aren’t adequate for the current inmate population. Adams’ office didn’t comment Friday on Ramjattan’s past remarks about Rikers.
In addition to Rajmattan, Adams named Eric Ware, an ex-official in the Staten Island district attorney’s office, as Ramjattan’s deputy.
Naveed’s deputy resigned from the hate crimes prevention office shortly after he left.
At the time of their departures, hate crimes were spiking in the city amid fallout from the Israel-Hamas war. Rates have since ticked up further, NYPD data shows, though Adams’ office noted Friday they are lower when compared to the same time last year.
With Cayla Bamberger
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