TROY — City councilman Anasha Cummings saw the black-and-white stickers plastered on telephone poles and mailboxes around city hall a couple of weeks ago.

One said, "They hate you for being white." Another read, "Multiculturalism kills." One more declared, "We shall prosper," below a photo of an Aryan-looking man and woman reminiscent of Nazi-era propaganda.

Cummings, who snapped photos of a dozen different stickers tied to an online white supremacist group, took some of them down. He believes it was probably the work of a troll with a printer — "someone who cares more about riling us up for attention than the actual message," he said.

But he wasn't the only one who protested the messages, which appeared around downtown Troy in recent months. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said he was "deeply disturbed by the materials," directed the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force Monday to assist local authorities in investigating to hold whoever was responsible accountable.

"These materials are not just spreading hate speech, they are inciting fear and division within our communities, and we must all stand together and disavow this hate-fueled rhetoric immediately," Cuomo said in a statement.

The stickers are linked to the Hundred-Handers, a white supremacist group active on Twitter since last May, that is named after Greek mythological giants with fifty heads and one hundred arms. The group distributes slogans to anyone to print and post anonymously. In a Twitter message in response to Times Union's questions, a spokesperson said the group is active worldwide and would stand by any stickers that were numbered in their archive.

In Troy, it's illegal under city code to post signs on public property. City Deputy Director of Public Information John Salka said if there's staff capacity available, such graffiti, posters or stickers are removed. Salka said the city was made aware of the Hundred-Handers stickers and took a number of them down earlier this spring, and heard about them again when reported by Spectrum News Sunday.

"Troy stands against discrimination in all its forms," Mayor Patrick Madden said in a statement. "Racism, bigotry and prejudice have no place in our community. Messages which seek to create divisions along racial, ethnic or religious lines will be rejected, and we encourage residents to report graffiti on public property to City Hall."

Photos of 14 different stickers — including those calling nationalism "nature" and feminism "cancer"— were shared with news outlets upon request. On Monday, Rensselaer County Legislator Carole Weaver, who represents part of Troy, said she didn't see any of the stickers left downtown.

Many were removed by residents. A member of the Capital District Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) circulated photos of two stickers before ripping them off city parking signs Friday.

"If we're truly opposed (to racism), if we're truly a welcoming city and we're open to all nationalities and creeds, when spotted that needs to be immediately removed," said Sean Collins, the Capital District DSA secretary. "It's not simply hate speech and exercising free speech. It's promoting violence against a good chunk of our community. We don't have to provide a platform for that."

Cummings denounced the stickers and removed some himself, but saw it more as a private issue about what kind of speech residents want to tolerate in the community. He said he was in favor of using public spaces as an opportunity for communication, and it wasn't something city council members would be looking to regulate.

But he did say the timing of the messages was notable as reported hate crimes grow around the country and Troy debates whether it should do more to protect undocumented immigrants from federal enforcement action.

"Obviously there are people of all races who have struggled and have challenges in the American economy as it is now," Cummings said, "but to equate those or pit them against each other in that way is dangerous, and it's not good for our community."