Former Mayor Eric Adams’ Employee Rejoins City Government Amid Ongoing Discrimination Lawsuit

A former employee of Eric Adams, the ex-mayor of New York City, has made a return to the municipal government while still pursuing a lawsuit against the city for alleged discrimination from his resignation two years ago.

Hassan Naveed has been appointed as the chief of staff for the deputy mayor focused on community safety under Mayor Zoran Mamdani. He shared his enthusiasm for the new position on social media, stating he was “excited” about the opportunity.

“I would like to sincerely thank Deputy Mayor Renita Francois for this wonderful opportunity and for her leadership in building the city’s first unified community safety agency,” he expressed on LinkedIn.

“I am honored to work with Mayor Zoran K. Mamdani’s vision to ensure that safety in New York City is proactively coordinated and based on the needs of our neighborhoods,” Naveed said.

Previously, he served as the executive director of the Office of Hate Crime Prevention under Adams for about 18 months. Naveed claims he was terminated due to a “hostile work environment,” which he attributes to anti-Muslim bias within the administration. His lawsuit alleges that he experienced “repeated discrimination” based on his Muslim faith and South Asian background.

Aside from Naveed, other Muslim team members had voiced concerns regarding the administration’s response to actions following the October 7 Israeli attack—issues they felt were neglected by Adams.

The complaint cites Adams as having stated, “I don’t know the difference between a Palestinian, an Arab, and a Muslim,” indicating a lack of understanding regarding these identities. Additionally, he purportedly minimized allegations of discrimination, saying Muslims faced bias for failing to denounce Hamas.

Naveed claimed to have recorded a conversation on the matter but has not disclosed any audio from it. At the time of his dismissal, a representative for Adams asserted that he was let go due to “poor performance.”

As he joins Mamdani’s administration, Naveed will continue his lawsuit against the city. He has directed any comments regarding the legal proceedings to his attorney and chose not to speak about his new role. City Hall has yet to respond to inquiries about the situation.