"Whether it is something to be investigated by New Jersey authorities is left to agencies like the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Attorney General's Office," spokesman Michael Drewniak said in an e-mail. "I say the above without making any judgments about the allegations. We forward such requests for investigation to the AG's Office."
Drewniak confirmed that the governor's office had received the letter.
The letter cites a series of stories by the Associated Press that detailed the monitoring of Muslims in New York and surrounding states, including New Jersey and Connecticut, by the NYPD.
Signatories to the letter include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the American Arab Forum, and the Council of Shiite Professionals.
The groups noted that the surveillance plans detailed in the reports point to violations both of New Jersey law and the civil rights of law abiding residents.
"The seriousness of this problem cannot be overstated," the letter to Christie said. "Given the trust the Muslim community has built with your office through your engagement with these communities and public stance against 'overreacting' to the threat of terror and painting 'all of Islam' with the brush of terrorism, we are contacting you with our concerns."
The groups asked Christie to press the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the NYPD's actions, and for the governor to explain to Muslim residents the extent of the NYPD's activities in New Jersey.
"We are very upset with the NYPD's spying efforts, especially when they are warrantless and without due process," said Aref Assaf, the head of the American Arab Forum who helped draft the letter, sent Feb. 10. "We're all for making sure our country is safe and terrorists are stopped, but this is really blanket profiling in its worst manifestation."
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have insisted that police only follow legitimate leads and do not conduct preventative surveillance in ethnic communities.
A May 2006 NYPD intelligence report addressed to Kelly, however, recommended increased spying at Shiite mosques, including some in New Jersey, and an assessment of the region's Palestinian community to look for potential terrorists.
Paterson, about 10 miles outside New York City, is home to one of the largest Palestinian communities in the northeastern United States and to a large Arab American population of both Muslims and Christians.
"We consider ourselves to be law-abiding, patriotic, productive citizens on the side of fighting terrorism," Assaf said. "When our own law enforcement seems to be taking sides, their credibility is undermined."
