Mamdani to keep Jewish NYPD chief Tisch in place, winning praise from moderates

NYC mayor-elect says he ‘looks forward to working with’ well-regarded police commissioner, fulfilling campaign pledge

NEW YORK — New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani confirmed on Wednesday that he will keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her position, fulfilling a campaign pledge that appealed to moderates and winning praise from pro-Israel centrists.

Tisch is well regarded as police commissioner and is from a prominent Jewish family known for its business success and philanthropy.

Mamdani and Tisch confirmed the news in Wednesday statements.

“I look forward to working with Commissioner Jessica Tisch to deliver genuine public safety in New York City,” Mamdani said. “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.”

Tisch said she had “spoken to mayor-elect Mamdani several times, and I’m ready to serve with honor as his police commissioner. That’s because he and I share many of the same public safety goals.”

The decision is likely to assuage concerns about safety under Mamdani’s administration, including among Jews, due to his past calls to defund the police and his far-left policies.

Mamdani has also blamed violence by the NYPD on Israel. The NYPD works with Israeli law enforcement, along with other international partners around the globe. It was unclear whether the partnership with Israel will continue under Mamdani, who is a longtime supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.

Violent crimes have declined in New York City since Tisch took office in November 2024.

Jewish New Yorkers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the community’s safety under a Mamdani administration, citing factors like hate crimes prosecution and policing of anti-Zionist protests. A July poll focused on Jewish voters found that 58% believed that the city would be less safe for Jews under the Mamdani administration.

Mamdani has pledged to protect Jewish communities and laid out a plan for combating antisemitism. Jews are targeted in hate crimes in the city far more than any other group.

Jewish community advocates have also voiced concern about Mamdani’s staff appointments as mayor. The mayor does not have the ability to pass legislation on his own, but he has the power to make appointments in the city’s vast bureaucracy.

Centrist, pro-Israel groups praised Mamdani’s decision to keep Tisch in place.

Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a pro-Israel stalwart who appointed Tisch to her position last year, welcomed the decision, despite Adams’s past enmity toward Mamdani. Adams had a career in the NYPD before entering politics.

“Mayor-elect Mamdani is recognizing our public-safety efforts were right and that they will continue into the future,” Adams said in a statement. “We all want a safer city, and keeping Commissioner Tisch in place and supporting our police officers every day with the policies we have implemented, is exactly how we do that.”

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, a centrist Jewish Democrat and the city’s comptroller-elect, said, “Kudos to [Mamdani] for this bold move. Truly excellent news for our city.”

The comptroller oversees the city’s finances and serves as a check on the mayor.

The Anti-Defamation League, which has traded barbs with Mamdani since his election win, welcomed Tisch’s appointment, without mentioning Mamdani.

US Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York, one of Israel’s most outspoken advocates in Congress, said, “Kudos to Mayor-elect Mamdani for keeping his promise to retain Jessica Tisch as New York City’s police commissioner. Excellent choice.”

Anti-Zionist activists opposed the move.

Tisch, 44, is a longtime public servant, spending more than a decade in the NYPD after studying at Harvard and reaching the rank of the police’s deputy commissioner for information. Adams then appointed her as the city’s sanitation commissioner in 2022, where she served until becoming the NYPD commissioner.

The NYPD is the nation’s largest police department with more than 45,000 officers and other staff.