Mayor Eric Adams.
Credit score: Ed Reed/Mayoral Pictures Workplace.
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Mayor Eric Adams on Friday tapped psychological well being counselor and researcher Vijah Ramjattan to guide the town’s hate crimes prevention unit months after firing the job’s final occupant.
Hizzoner appointed Ramjattan govt director of the Mayor’s Workplace for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) on Jan. 3. In his new function, Ramjattan will coordinate efforts throughout metropolis companies to forestall bias-based incidents on the neighborhood stage and assist victims of hate crimes throughout the Massive Apple.
“New York City is the greatest city in the world because of our extensive diversity, and to stamp out hate wherever it rears its ugly head, we need a leader that will help ensure that New Yorkers have the tools needed to be part of the solution,” the mayor stated in a press release.
Ramjattan beforehand labored as a analysis administrator on the state Psychiatric Institute-Analysis Basis for Psychological Hygiene, in accordance with the mayor’s workplace. Previous to that, he labored for the town’s Division of Correction as a counselor and grievance coordinator on Rikers Island.
“While hate crimes are down in our city, year over year, 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 across the five boroughs,” Adams stated.
The mayor additionally appointed Erica Ware as Ramjattan’s deputy govt director and Jelissa Thomas as a senior venture supervisor for the hate crimes prevention unit. Ware beforehand labored as deputy director of the Sufferer Providers Unit for the Richmond County District Legal professional’s workplace and Thomas was a trainer at Fairness Undertaking Constitution Faculty.
Adams named Ramjattan to the function almost a yr after he fired the place’s final occupant: Hassan Naveed.
In revealed stories, Naveed contends that Adams terminated him in April as a result of he’s Muslim. He has taken steps to sue Adams’ administration for wrongful termination.
“You’re given a responsibility in a role; you’re in charge of hate crimes; I’m seeing an increase in hate crimes,” Adams stated on the time. “People have to live up to what they’re hired to do, taxpayers deserve that.”
