Brooklyn Assemblyman Michael Novakhov 45th AD
Office of Assemblyman Michael Novakhov
Brooklyn Assemblyman Michael Novakhov 45th AD
Brooklyn Assemblyman, Michael Novakhov, who represents New York's 45th Assembly District covering Sheepshead Bay, Midwood, Manhattan Beach, Gravesend, and Brighton Beach, has called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate New York City, New York State, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani over alleged civil rights violations affecting Jewish New Yorkers. The request asks federal officials to review a series of allegations related to public safety, anti-Semitic hate crimes, government actions, and civil rights protections, while noting that the claims are being submitted for federal review and have not been adjudicated.
Assemblyman Michael Novakhov Calls on DOJ to Investigate Mayor Mamdani, NYC, and NYS for Civil Rights Violations Against Jewish New Yorkers
Complaint alleges pattern of conduct contributing to surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes; requests investigation similar to DOJ's Columbia University inquiry
Brooklyn, NY — Assemblyman Michael Novakhov (45th A.D.) announced that he has formally requested the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice open an investigation into New York City, New York State, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, including his relationship with the anti-Semitic Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) for fostering a hostile environment that has contributed to a sharp rise in hate crimes against the city's Jewish community.
The complaint draws a direct parallel to the DOJ's prior civil rights investigation into Columbia University's handling of anti-Semitic harassment following the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attacks. It cites potential violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 18 U.S.C. § 242, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal Anti-Riot Act (18 U.S.C. § 2101), and the U.N. Headquarters Agreement (22 U.S.C. § 287).
This request has received broad support from Novakhov's elected colleagues. More than 20 members of the New York State Assembly Minority Conference, including the Minority Leader, as well as members of the New York State Senate Minority Conference, have signed onto his letter to the DOJ in support of this request for a federal investigation.
"I represent one of the largest concentrations of Jewish refugees who fled anti-Semitism and socialism from the Soviet Union— most of my Orthodox, Sephardic, Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian neighbors—or their families—fled the same persecution. Many of our families lost loved ones in the Holocaust, which is why we understand better than most what happens when government leaders promote or tolerate hatred against Jews," said Novakhov. "What we are seeing now is a pattern, not a coincidence, and the federal government has a duty to investigate it."
Key allegations outlined in the complaint include:
According to NYPD data, Jewish New Yorkers — roughly 10% of the city's population — are the target of more than half of all reported hate crimes in the city this year.
The complaint alleges Mamdani is organizing, promoting, and encouraging anti-Jewish rallies that could ignite dangerous conditions on New York City's streets, citing his call for protesters to "hit the streets" during the upcoming U.N. visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a violation of the law protecting U.N. members, will create the same public safety conditions for Jewish New Yorkers, that Jewish students faced at Columbia University during the anti-Israel protests.
The complaint alleges the state's 2019 bail and parole reforms have contributed to an increase of 200% in Jewish hate crimes, and notes Mamdani's voting record on related pro-criminal legislation as an Assemblyman.
The complaint alleges that two days after the mayor posted an anti-Israel video, a man attacked Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, stabbing him with a screwdriver. Grunhaus was wearing a kippah and was outside of a synagogue. This incident is described by Jewish leaders as a consequence of the broader pattern by the mayor to incite hate against the Jewish community.
The complaint further cites NYC’s failures to enforce protest permitting laws, citing hundreds of illegal unpermitted protest marches, including an incident outside Young Israel of Midwood in Brooklyn in which anti-Israel/Jewish demonstrators breached a mandated buffer zone, rushing past police into the surrounding Jewish neighborhood, waving Hamas flags, chanting anti-Israel and anti-Jewish slogans, and frightening children and families outside their homes.
The complaint cites Mayor Mamdani scrapping Mayor Adams' order directing city agencies to use the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, and Mayor Mamdani saying his administration would not adopt an official city definition. Months later, the NYPD temporarily changed its reporting to publish only confirmed hate crimes—initially lowering the reported number of anti-Semitic incidents before reversing course after criticism. Mamdani’s official actions as mayor were designed to downplay the rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes.
The complaint alleges Mamdani repeatedly used inflammatory rhetoric to fuel protests. It cites his comments about arresting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, he calls for supporters to protest Netanyahu's U.N. visit, and his arrest at a protest outside Senator Chuck Schumer's Brooklyn home just six days after the October 7 Hamas attack, before Israel's ground invasion of Gaza. The protest was organized by a nonprofit led by DSA organizer Alicia Singham Goodwin, niece of Neville Roy Singham, whose money has supported Goodwin’s nonprofits and the DSA through his network of nonprofits. The complaint alleges Mamdani used the resources from Goodwin, the DSA, and Singham, before, during, and after the campaign, to inflame tensions and hate against NYC’s Jewish community.
The complaint raises additional concerns regarding potential Logan Act violations. Ana Maria Archila, the Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for International Affairs, was scheduled to meet with Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. A second potential violation of the Logan Act cited in complaint is Mamdani’s campaign funding connections to international financier Neville Roy Singham.
The complaint raises additional concerns about the pro-Mamdani Super PAC, New Yorkers for Lower Costs, that coordinated with the Mamdani campaign, received $100,000 from the Unity & Justice Fund, a PAC associated with CAIR Action. CAIR was identified by the DOJ as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case, to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization (Hamas), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997.
Novakhov's office noted that all claims in the complaint are allegations submitted for federal review and have not been adjudicated. The Assemblyman is urging the DOJ to act with the same urgency it applied in the Columbia University matter, stating that Jewish New Yorkers "deserve equal protection under the law — the same promise this country made to every one of us."
