NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch accepted Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s provide to remain on as high cop when he takes workplace, The Put up has discovered — a bridge-building transfer that comes regardless of their profound political variations.
The extremely anticipated appointment fulfills Mamdani’s marketing campaign promise to maintain the revered 44-year-old police government within the outstanding position because the far-left candidate appears to be like to ease issues from the reasonable wing of the Democratic Occasion and Massive Apple bigwigs as he builds out his administration.
Mamdani’s group, in an announcement asserting the appointment, lauded Tisch’s management, driving a big drop in crime — together with record-low shootings thus far this yr.
“I’ve admired her work cracking down on corruption within the higher echelons of the police division, driving down crime in New York Metropolis, and standing up for New Yorkers within the face of authoritarianism,” Mamdani stated in an announcement.
“Collectively, we’ll ship a metropolis the place rank-and-file law enforcement officials and the communities they serve alike are protected, represented, and proud to name New York their dwelling.”
Tisch, for her half, stated her choice to remain got here after a number of conversations with Mamdani.
“That’s as a result of he and I share lots of the identical public security targets for New York Metropolis: reducing crime, making communities safer, rooting out corruption, and giving our officers the instruments, assist, and assets they should perform their noble work,” she stated in an announcement.
Mamdani and Tisch will work collectively to maintain NYPD cops centered on severe and violent crime, with the mayor-elect’s proposed new “Division of Group Security” (DCS) taking the burden of coping with homelessness and psychological well being points, his group stated.
The Democratic socialist’s pledge to choose Tisch — a well-respected public servant credited with main the nation’s largest police pressure out of a tough patch, each on crime and inside its ranks — had soothed many New Yorkers’ fears concerning the incoming mayor, who has been criticized for previous anti-cop statements.
Critics and political opponents claimed crime would skyrocket below Mamdani, over the pol’s since-disavowed statements calling the NYPD “racist,” in addition to previous assist for defunding the police and the proposed DCS — which might have social employees reply to many calls as an alternative of cops.
Restive enterprise leaders, together with Tisch’s personal billionaire household, and different New York energy gamers have been pushing her to remain in Mamdani’s administration as a firewall towards many radical progressive police reforms.
And institution Democrats resembling Gov. Kathy Hochul and Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries likewise stated his dedication to Tisch performed a big position of their endorsements for the comparatively unproven 34-year-old lawmaker.
Whereas each are Democrats, the 2 will nonetheless make for an odd pairing, given their typically opposing stances on public issues of safety.
Tisch has been an outspoken critic of New York state authorities’s controversial 2019 prison justice reforms, which legislation enforcement officers have slammed for making a “revolving door” within the system that sees harmful criminals arrested then rapidly put again on the streets to reoffend.
Mamdani, in the meantime, has crowed the reforms haven’t gone far sufficient.
The commissioner additionally backed outgoing Mayor Eric Adams’ late-in-the-game plan to swell the NYPD’s ranks to 40,000 officers over the following few years.
Whereas Mamdani, for his half, campaigned on eliminating the police division’s extra time, constructing out his DCS and retaining the pressure at its present 35,000 budgeted staffing stage.
They’re additionally worlds aside on Israel, for deeply private causes.
Tisch, who hails from one of many metropolis’s most outstanding Jewish households, is a Zionist.
Mamdani, against this, is a longstanding vocal critic of Israel who has pledged to order the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the town.
The telegenic leftist’s unwavering assist of the Palestinian trigger helped propel him to victory amongst New Yorkers disgusted with the warfare in Gaza, however has been criticized by many Jewish New Yorkers as antisemitic — a cost he repeatedly denies.
