Mamdani keeping Jessica Tisch on as police commissioner as he tries to quell voters’ fears over past remarks
Tisch never commented on the race for mayor or Mamdani’s politics during the campaign
Following Zohran Mamdani’s win as New York City’s mayoral elect, it was not clear if NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch would remain in the post.
Mamdani announced on Wednesday that he would keep Tisch – whom Mayor Eric Adams appointed – in her role leading the largest police department in the nation.
Mamdani said Jessica Tisch has rooted out corruption in the upper echelons of the department and "led a department-wide focus on accountability and transparency, while delivering historic reductions in violent crime.”
“I look forward to working with Commissioner Jessica Tisch to deliver genuine public safety in New York City. 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,” Mamdani said on X.
Tisch has led the police department since November 2024.
Her decision to stay on is likely to provide some level of comfort to city business leaders and others who worried that Mamdani’s past harsh rhetoric about the department during the height of Black Lives Matter protests would translate into radical changes at the NYPD.
Tisch never commented on the race for mayor or Mamdani’s politics during the campaign.
Last week, Mamdani and Tisch held a meeting, but it remained unclear if he had secured a commitment. Gov. Kathy Hochul, one of the chief supporters of retaining Tisch, said she was confident Tisch would stay.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old born in Uganda, will enter office in January as the first Muslim mayor in the city’s history, and one of its youngest, now set to run one of the largest and most diverse cities in the United States.
More than 2 million voters cast ballots in this year’s mayoral election before polls had closed, a turnout that had not been seen in decades.