BY SARAH O’CONNELL
During the second New York City mayoral debate on October 22, Democratic candidate and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani confirmed that he would ask New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch to stay at the department if elected, putting an end to months of rumors regarding who would lead the department under his administration. Tisch’s hard on crime playbook has caused some to worry her retention at the department will prevent the administration from achieving pledged police reforms.
Speaking during the debate about his decision to retain Tisch, Mamdani said in order to ensure a safe city for New Yorkers, his team would need to be composed of “the best and the brightest.” Mamdani noted how Tisch, the head of a department that Mayor Eric Adams seeded with “corruption and incompetence,” started to deliver accountability for the department and reduced crime across NYC.
However, critics feel that the decision to retain Tisch could sabotage opportunities to reform a corrupt department. Tisch “has done nothing to change the basic functioning of the department and is seen as highly loyal to the institution and its worldview,” wrote author and police reform advocate Alex Vitale for The Nation, adding that these loyalties run contrary to Mamdani’s stated goals.
During a live event with reporters from NYC news outlet Hell Gate, Mamdani reiterated that his administration sees an opportunity to expand on what Tisch had already accomplished. This could lead to the administration reaching their promises to create a Department of Community Safety and disband the Strategic Response Group, a protest response group created during the de Blasio administration that became notorious for use of excessive force.
“Every pick that I will make, will be a pick to further the agenda that I’ve been running on,” said Mamdani when questioned by Hell Gate reporters Nick Pinto and Christopher Robbins about his decision. He added that he strives to build a team that can work together to deliver results, though they may not agree on every policy position. “There will be people in my administration to the left of me and to the right of me. And the thing that will unite all of them is the very clear agenda.”
Shortly after her appointment by Adams in November 2024, Tisch began purging the department of allegedly corrupt officials. Since then, she has spearheaded efforts to strengthen the department and crack down on low-level crimes.
Mamdani, who maintains a double digit lead in the mayoral race, has pledged to address public safety – which is a key issue among NYC voters – by creating a Department of Community Safety, which would deploy specialized teams instead of police to mental health-related 911 calls.
This position is in contrast to candidates Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, who have both pledged that they would hire more officers if elected. During the second debate both Cuomo and Sliwa said they would ask Tisch to stay at the department, but questioned whether she would want the job under Mamdani’s administration.
Tisch, when questioned by reporters in a video posted on October 29, declined to comment on whether she would accept Mamdani’s offer to stay in her role if he is elected, saying she does not speak to the press about electoral matters.
Critics of Mamdani have warned that his administration would cause a lack of trust with the department, leading to an exodus of cops in a department that is already losing officers at record levels. In an interview with Gothamist, former NYPD officer Sal Greco disputed these claims, saying that while he didn’t think most officers wanted Mamdani to be the mayor, “they’ll just deal with whoever is the mayor. It’s not going to make or break their career.”
During the first mayoral debate on October 16, Cuomo butted heads with Mamdani over his past stance on policing: “He is a divisive personality across the board,” said Cuomo. “NYPD are racist, Barack Obama is evil.”
In a series of tweets published in 2020, Mamdani called to defund the NYPD, decrying them as racist and homophobic. He has since distanced himself from the tweets, saying that they do not represent his current stance, and apologized to the department during an interview with FOX News in October.