NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch Is Staying. What Will That Mean for Zohran Mamdani?

During the late stages of his mayoral campaign, Zohran Mamdani—looking to give his candidacy a more moderate veneer—committed to asking NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch to remain at the helm of the country’s largest local law enforcement agency. On Wednesday, Tisch accepted Mamdani’s offer, to the chagrin of some and the surprise of others.

The surprise stems from what even casual observers can plainly see: Tisch and Mamdani have very different approaches to crime and policing. As a candidate, Mamdani promised to sign legislation to abolish the city’s gang database. As commissioner, Tisch has prioritized gang takedowns.

Mamdani was the only candidate that expressed opposition to growing the NYPD’s force size. Meantime, Commissioner Tisch has had to modify standards in an effort to overcome staffing challenges. The mayor-elect has vowed to dismantle the Department’s Strategic Response Group. The commissioner wants to keep it. The commissioner has exercised her authority to deviate from the disciplinary recommendations of the Civilian Complaint Review Board some 25 percent of the time. Mamdani wants to take that discretion away. Tisch has railed against recent state-level criminal-justice reforms to bail, discovery, parole, and juvenile prosecutions. Mamdani has backed these measures, even suggesting that they did not go far enough.

These tensions have left many to wonder: How on earth will this work? It may not. But there is room for some hopeful speculation.

It’s possible that by pre-committing to Tisch, Mamdani gave her leverage to extract some concessions. Her signing on may mean that she’ll get her way on policies like the gang database, force size, and disciplinary authority.

This possibility is not to be discounted. It would have been a terrible look for Mamdani to break a major campaign promise—and keeping Commissioner Tisch was a major campaign promise—before even taking office.

By tying his own hands, Mamdani placed himself in a bind: if Tisch refuses to go along with his more radical policy ideas on public safety, he may be forced to fire the most popular and effective police executive since William J. Bratton. If Mamdani decides to test her resolve by ramming a dealbreaker down the department’s throat, he risks Tisch walking out in protest.

Either outcome would be a loss for him politically. But Tisch leaving would likely be an even bigger loss for the city, because it would mean that no one stood in the way of Mamdani’s worst instincts about the NYPD and his ability to act on them.

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