(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mandani is facing a backlash over his administration’s plans to cancel thousands of NYPD officer hires and slash the department’s budget to address the city’s deficit.
Mandani’s preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget, unveiled on Tuesday, calls for a $22 million decrease in the New York Police Department’s $6.4 billion budget next year which could result in more than 5,000 unfilled positions remaining vacant. The mayor said the cuts are necessary to help reduce a projected $5.4 billion revenue shortfall in the next fiscal year.
The mayor’s $127 billion spending plan calls for higher taxes on New York City’s top earners and corporations, and a possible 9.5% blanket property tax increase if state lawmakers decline to approve his wealth tax plan to balance the budget.
But Mamdani’s plans to cut NYPD funding are also prompting a backlash from critics who point to the democratic socialist’s previous statements about defunding the police.
“Mamdani built his career attacking police and supporting the “defund the police” movement,” said Rep. Claudia Tenney, a New York Republican, posted on X. “When it became politically inconvenient, he said he wouldn’t cut law enforcement. Now, he’s canceling 5,000 new officers and cutting the NYPD budget. Mamdani has always been anti-law enforcement.”
City Council Speaker Julie Menin hasn’t specifically commented on the proposed NYPD cuts, but has criticized the mayor’s plans to increase property taxes and tap reserve funds to reduce the budget deficit.
But Republican Councilor Joann Ariola said NYPD cuts should be off the table as the 51-member Council gets to work on its own version of the city budget.
“There are plenty of agencies where cuts can be made, but the NYPD is not one of them,” Ariola posted on social media. “This, like the wildly over inflated deficit, is yet another scare tactic to pressure Albany into the tax hikes he promised his [Democratic Socialists of America] base. He’s telling Hochul “give me what I want, or risk mayhem on the streets in an election year.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee noted that top New York Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, endorsed Mamndani’s mayoral bid despite concerns that he would cut funding for the NYPD if elected.
“Socialist Zohran Mamdani has been mayor of New York City for 49 days and he’s already defunding the police,” the NRCC posted on social media. “House Democrats endorsed him, House Democrats endorsed this.”
On the campaign trail, Mamdani 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 warned that the NYPD could see “walkouts” or a mass exodus under the Mamdani administration, but it remains unclear if police officers are leaving the department.
Former Mayor Eric Adams, a ex-NYPD captain, proposed hiring 5,000 more new officers before stepping down in January. But the hiring surge was blocked by Mamdani, who rescinded all previous orders by his predecessor shortly after taking over City Hall last month.
