Mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani wants Jessica Tisch to remain as NYPD Commissioner under his potential administration. He broadcast those intentions during the final debate last Wednesday, Oct. 22.
“Commissioner Tisch took on a broken status quo, started to deliver accountability, rooting out corruption and reducing crime across the five boroughs,” said Mamdani. “I have said time and again that my litmus tests for that position will be excellence, and the alignment will be of that position, and I am confident that under a Mamdani administration, we will continue to deliver on that same mission.
“And do so while creating the Department of Community Safety to ensure that mental health experts were the ones responding to the mental health crisis, because safety and justice is at the cornerstone of our pursuit of public safety, and in doing so, we will also be able to deliver our agenda for affordability.”
But nothing is set in stone. Mamdani will need to win first, of course. Not only that, but Tisch still needs to accept. Mamdani told CNN they had not spoken privately about the matter yet. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who he is facing in a post-primary rematch, is also reportedly keen on retaining her.
Less than a year ago, Mayor Eric Adams appointed Tisch following a revolving door of police commissioners throughout his administration. Her predecessor, Edward Caban, stepped down last September after a federal corruption probe, but not before burying numerous police disciplinary cases during his tenure. His interim replacement, Tom Donlon, is currently accusing the NYPD of running a “coordinated criminal conspiracy” in a lawsuit against Adams and the city.
The administration’s first commissioner, Keechant Sewell, left after attempting to dock up to 10 vacation days from entrenched police chief Jeffrey Maddrey. The long-time Adams ally faced a substantiated misconduct complaint over interfering with the arrest of a retired colleague for allegedly chasing after teenagers with a loaded gun. He is also named in Donlon’s lawsuit. Sewell, the first woman to lead the NYPD, now heads security and guest experience for the New York Mets.
Tisch pushed out Maddrey soon after stepping in, following a sexual harassment allegation. She also replaced Chief of Internal Affairs Miguel Iglesias in her early days. But Tisch also promoted the now-retired John Chell — known for his pro-Republican outbursts and who is also named in Donlon’s lawsuit — to Chief of Department, the highest-ranking uniformed officer.
She’s since brought stability to the NYPD as she approaches a year as commissioner and earned a rep for tackling corruption from the likes of Mamdani. Prior to her appointment, Tisch headed the Department of Sanitation. She previously worked in the NYPD on the tech side, although she never served in uniform like her predecessors.
Still, Mamdani’s pick for the job remains a significant departure from his progressive policy platform and democratic socialist leanings. Tisch, a billionaire heiress, opposes key criminal justice reforms like bail reform and Raise the Age, supported by Mamdani and signed into law by Cuomo. Many left-wing advocates and civil liberties groups see her “quality of life” teams as stop-and-frisk 2.0 and blame the aggressive policing practices for a recent string of custody deaths. And her support of Israel may clash with Mamdani’s campaign promise for the NYPD to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over intentional law violations if he set foot in the Five Boroughs.
Brooklyn College Prof. Alex Vitale, who the Mamdani campaign enlisted to review the candidate’s Department of Community Safety plan, called the potential pairing a “fundamental mismatch.” He pointed to how Tisch’s family members donated hundreds of thousands to an opposing super PAC just days before the Democratic Primary.
“It is a bit concerning that Mamdani would want to bring someone into [one of] the most strategically important positions within his administration, who it appears, does not agree, not just with his views on public safety, but his larger agenda about making the city more affordable,” said Vitale.
The long-time police critic also mentioned concerns for how a hostile NYPD commissioner could sandbag the Department of Community Safety rollout, which would bring the city’s various civilian-led public safety initiatives under a single agency and significantly fund such programs. His proposal would then divert officers towards focusing on solving serious crimes like murder and rape.
According to Vitale, the NYPD and Department of Community Safety could clash over overlapping duties. The B-Heard pilot currently exists to redirect mental health calls to non-police responses. But even qualifying calls, which do not involve the threat of violence, sometimes end with an NYPD deployment. Mamdani plans on overhauling B-Heard to ensure the program operates as envisioned. Earlier this year, he told the AmNews he drew inspiration from CAHOOTS, an Oregon-based mobile response initiative that did not record a single death or serious injury through three decades and depended on buy-in from local law enforcement.
The city’s current Crisis Management System would also fall under the Department of Community Safety. The gun violence prevention strategy employs trusted community figures called credible messengers — many who are former gang members — to negotiate ceasefires and prevent retaliation. Significant shooting reductions in neighborhoods traditionally plagued by gun violence are well-documented where CMS organizations are active.
But the strategy often relies on removing police from the equation to prevent future shootings. “Other cities have tried to work out protocols between these teams and the police department, and Mamdani says that he wants to expand the teams [and] scope of operation,” said Vitale. “This is another area where a non-cooperative police department could interfere with efforts to create a seamless response to gun violence.”
In July, Tisch drew sharp criticism for refusing to terminate Lt. Jonathan Rivera over killing Washington Heights man Allan Feliz in 2019 despite the NYPD’s own ruling against the officer for fireable offenses. In the most serious misconduct cases, the police commissioner gets final say on the disciplinary action after going through a trial judged by a deputy commissioner.
For years, Mamdani called for Rivera to face discipline and signed a key letter against further delaying the disciplinary process back in 2023. This past March, he rallied outside 1 Police Plaza with Feliz’s family, where he mentioned Tisch’s willingness to root out corruption from the department’s top brass.
“That action needs to be extended to the entirety of the NYPD as an institution,” said Mamdani in March. “And that means the firing of Jonathan Rivera. We cannot have it that the same judge who ruled Daniel Pantaleo should be fired for murdering Eric Garner has now ruled that Jonathan Rivera should be fired for the killing of Allan Feliz, and then we ignore that ruling.”
Feliz’s long-time partner Julie Aquino criticised Mamdani, asking Tisch to remain as police commissioner. She, along with his brother, mother, and sister, filed a lawsuit against the NYPD earlier this month over the decision.
“It’s a slap in the face to our family for Mr. Mamdani to let Jessica Tisch keep her job after she refused to fire Lt. Rivera, and, if it happens, it will make this city less safe for Black and Latino New Yorkers,” said Aquino over email. “Tisch overturned her own deputy commissioner’s guilty verdict and ignored overwhelming evidence against Rivera from the NYPD’s own trial—there’s no justification for that. Her decision betrayed me, my son, and every New Yorker who believes in accountability and justice.
“Tisch has already proven she cares more about protecting the NYPD and her own political power over protecting our communities. It’s mind-boggling how Mr. Mamdani can believe Tisch can be trusted to run his NYPD and deliver real public safety when she’s done the exact opposite.”
While the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), which investigates and prosecutes NYPD misconduct cases, butted heads with Tisch over the Rivera decision, an unnamed agency official told the Amsterdam News they broadly see a sizable improvement in police accountability under her leadership. The independent board does not comment on political matters.
Under Tisch, the discipline rate roughly doubled compared to her fellow Adams administration-appointed predecessors. There were particularly noticeable increases in concurrence, the metric for when the NYPD echoes the CCRB’s recommendations (the department can still dole out discipline out of lockstep with the board, which is recorded separately).
The CCRB official credited her for repealing a pandemic-era policy allowing the department to dismiss disciplinary cases brought by the agency within 60 business days of the usual 18-month statute of limitations, which allowed her predecessors to throw out substantiated complaints months ahead of schedule. Last month, she notably served charges against the officers who killed Queens teenager Win Rozario during a mental health call.
Additionally, Tisch’s tenure bridged a less adversarial relationship between the NYPD and the independent watchdog. “She has fostered an atmosphere of respectful dialogue between the agencies,” said the unnamed CCRB official. “That attitude can be seen in the example she has set and in the team she brought into leadership.”
Councilmember and fellow democratic socialist Tiffany Cabán, who Mamdani previously worked for as a field organizer, says she remains excited about the Department of Community Safety when asked about the plans to retain Tisch. The NYPD critic lambasted the commissioner in August for overturning Rivera’s termination.
“We are all ready to leave behind the Adams Administration’s failures,” said Cabán. “I’m clear about what I will continue to expect from a Police Commissioner: transparency, accountability, and the abandonment of failed policies that target those who are poor, struggling with homelessness, substance use disorder, and mental illness. My mission is to reduce violence in our communities and improve health and safety outcomes.
“And I am hopeful that under the new administration we will see true investment in the care needed to keep New Yorkers safe –– investments that will relieve the NYPD of the task of responding to every societal ill.”