Mayor Adams has a new hate crimes czar, filling a role vacant since spring

Mayor Eric Adams appointed a former correction department counselor and city hospital system interfaith leader as the new executive director of the city’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, filling a post vacant since the spring.

Vijah Ramjattan succeeds Hassan Naveed, who was terminated from the position in April. His ouster prompted complaints from elected officials, including Councilmember Shahana Hanif, who suggested Naveed had been targeted because of his Muslim faith.

The appointment of Ramjattan, who is Hindu, follows a period of challenge in the city where reported bias complaints, across the spectrum of identities, were frequently in the news, linked to both international conflict and domestic politics.

Ramjattan served on the advisory board of Sadhana, a local organization that advocates on its website for a “progressive Hindu movement.” According to a bio provided by the mayor’s office he graduated with degrees in psychology and comparative religion from Hunter College and worked as a research study codirector at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University.

He also worked for the city’s Department of Correction, serving as a counselor and grievance coordinator on Rikers Island, and was an interfaith chaplain for NYC Health + Hospitals.

“I'm thrilled to join this administration to implement Mayor Adams’ vision of a city free of hate and bias,” Ramjattan said in a statement. “[The Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes] and its partners are a vital part of our city’s defense against the kinds of hate and bias that can undermine our public safety.”

As executive director, Ramjattan is tasked with overseeing interagency efforts to combat hate crimes. The office also provides support to community-based groups that deal with victims of hate and bias.

“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 said in a statement.

Sunita Viswanath, the cofounder of Sadhana, said she’d known Ramjattan “to be a progressive Hindu, consistently committed to fighting hate, including caste and Hindu nationalism.”

“I hope that these inclusive and progressive values continue to guide him in this new and important leadership role,” “particularly at this time of a far rightward trend in the country and the South Asian community,” Viswanath said.