Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared side-by-side Tuesday at One Police Plaza, and the city’s top cop shook off speculation that her status with the new regime has been downgraded in any way.
Tisch insisted, in answering a question from amNewYork, that she continues to meet regularly with the new mayor, despite a day-one executive order by Mamdani that shuffled the chain of command at City Hall — and seemingly put the police commissioner under the direction of First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan.
Though some critics called it a “demotion” for Tisch, the commissioner did not tell reporters that on Jan. 6. Instead, she expressed confidence that she would work as “productively” with Mamdani as she has with previous mayors in other capacities.
Tisch added that there are currently no potential changes to the NYPD or its operations with Mamdani now at the helm at City Hall.
“I have now worked for my third or fourth mayor and every mayor has his own style, and I have worked with each of them quite productively. The mayor and I will continue to meet on issues, meet on crime-fighting strategies, and I’m looking forward to those discussions, but at this time, there is no change planned to the crime-fighting strategy that has delivered historic results,” Tisch said.
Her remarks seemed to reinforce what Mayor Mamdani had said on Monday in response to reports of the so-called “demotion,” stating that Tisch still reports directly to him.
“My police commissioner will continue to report directly to me. My police commissioner, just like my schools chancellor, will report directly to me,” Mamdani said on Jan. 5. “I am in constant communication with Commissioner Tisch, whether it be today or any other day.”
As Election Day neared last fall, Mamdani publicly expressed interest in retaining Tisch as the city’s top cop; she had been appointed commissioner by then-Mayor Eric Adams in November 2024. In her first year, Tisch oversaw changes in the NYPD brass, rooted out corruption, and helped manage the department to achieve historic crime drops last year, which she touted on Tuesday.
Weeks after his election, Mamdani met with Tisch and convinced her to stay on board, a move that helped maintain stability for a department that had seen four different commissioners over the past four years.
In addition to meetings and direct communication, the question remained whether any big changes would be coming to the department, such as the dismantling of the controversial Strategic Response Unit — something which Mamdani campaigned to do last year.
However, while Commissioner Tisch stated that she is always looking to the future, she said she had no imminent changes to report.
“Our crime-fighting strategy in New York City is working now. I am never satisfied with the status quo, just because it’s the status quo, we’re always going to look for ways to sharpen and refine. But I think it’s very clear that our approach, in particular to violent crime in New York City and to Subway crime in New York City, has led to historic results, and I don’t have any changes on the top of my head that I can think of at this time,” Tisch said.
amNewYork also pressed Mamdani on whether he himself will be seeking any changes to the department. The new mayor did not answer directly, instead committing to building upon the historic downward crime trend in which the NYPD reported the fewest murders and shootings since 2009.
“These numbers and accomplishments are to be celebrated, and as the commissioner said, they’re also ones to be built on, because we will not rest until we make this the safest city it can be,” Mamdani said.
