(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is keeping NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on as head of the nation’s largest police force as he prepares to take over City Hall.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman who takes over the reins of the city on Jan. 1, announced Tisch’s appointment Wednesday in a statement that lauded her work “cracking down on corruption in the upper echelons of the police department, driving down crime in New York City, and standing up for New Yorkers in the face of authoritarianism.”
“I look forward to working with Commissioner Jessica Tisch to deliver genuine public safety in New York City,” Mamdani said. “Together, we will deliver a city where rank-and-file police officers and the communities they serve alike are safe, represented, and proud to call New York their home.”
The mayor-elect ticked off a list of Tisch’s accomplishments during her tenure, including a reduction in murders, shootings and other violent crimes and removing nearly 5,000 illegal guns from the streets over the past year.
Tisch was appointed NYPD commissioner by Mayor Eric Adams in November 2024 during a time of turmoil in the department. She was Adam’s fourth NYPD commissioner in as many years.
In a statement, Tisch praised the “men and women of the NYPD” and strategies her office has implemented over the past for the “historic” reduction in crime and said she is “ready to serve with honor” in Mamdani’s administration.
“That’s because he and I share many of the same public safety goals for New York City: lowering crime, making communities safer, rooting out corruption, and giving our officers the tools, support, and resources they need to carry out their noble work,” she said.
On the campaign trail, Mamdani vowed to keep Tisch on as NYPD commissioner if elected. But he was dogged by questions about his previous support for “defunding” the NYPD as part of a progressive agenda. He denied that he wanted to pull funding from the police agency and has talked about plans to create a new unit specifically focused on responding to mental health-related incidents involving civilians.
Law enforcement groups have warned that the NYPD could see “walkouts” or a mass exodus under the Mamdani administration, but it remains unclear if police officers will leave the department.
Tisch’s reappointment to the top law-enforcement job comes as President Donald Trump is threatening to send the National Guard into New York City to enforce immigration laws and crack down on crime. Tisch has spoken out against a federal intervention.
On Monday, Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan told Fox News that he plans to “ramp up” immigration operations in New York City. He blamed New York’s ‘sanctuary’ laws that restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities serving civil detainers for undocumented immigrants.
“We will increase the enforcement in New York City again because they’re a sanctuary city and we know we have an issue there with public safety,” Homan said.
