Police report filed with NYPD over Gracie Mansion dust-up that ended with cellphone flinging
NEW YORK — The Department of Correction’s compliance head filed a police report against her agency’s top spokeswoman Thursday after they got into a caught-on-camera dust-up at Gracie Mansion that ended with a cellphone being flung across the room, the New York Daily News has learned.
The spokeswoman, Annais Morales, got into the beef with Mariam Singh, the department’s health and safety compliance director, during a Hispanic Heritage event hosted by Mayor Eric Adams at Gracie Mansion on Tuesday night.
Video circulated on social media showed Singh trying to take a video on her cellphone as the mayor came down the stairs to enter the room where the event was being held, when Morales started grabbing at and then snatched the phone away from Singh’s hands and tossed it across the room.
On Thursday morning, Singh filed a report with the NYPD’s 19th Precinct, which includes Gracie Mansion, over the incident, said Ali Najmi, Singh’s lawyer.
“The video speaks for itself — my client was waiting for the mayor to come down. She has the phone out. We can’t understand why Morales does this. It makes no sense why she decided to accost and attack Dr. Singh,” Najmi said. “Given Dr. Singh’s role as a community leader, we don’t want this episode to repeat itself. I want to commend Dr. Singh for her composure and professionalism in that moment.”
Morales and the Department of Correction press office did not immediately return a request for comment. The NYPD press office did not immediately comment, either.
On Wednesday, Adams spokesman Fabien Levy said the Gracie incident was under investigation by the Department of Correction and that the administration expects “all city employees to act with the highest level of integrity.”
On Thursday, some city stakeholders demanded the Adams administration take action against Morales.
“No one should have to endure the kind of attack and disrespect that Dr. Mariam Singh was subjected to,” Queens Assemblyman Zohran Kwame Mamdani wrote on X. “The Adams Administration official who engaged in this reprehensible behavior must be held accountable.”
The videos circulating on social media do not make clear what set off the confrontation between Singh and Morales.
As part of her role, Singh is tasked with ensuring the Department of Correction is complying with health and safety regulations inside city jails. Morales, the department’s press secretary, is DOC’s top media liaison and spokeswoman.
_____