New York City Mayoral Candidates Unite on One Key Issue: Keeping NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch
In a surprising display of unity, New York mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa have all vowed to keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her job if elected. The development has been met with both praise and skepticism from various quarters, as Tisch's tenure has been marked by significant reforms aimed at rooting out misconduct within the department.
Tisch, 44, a Harvard-educated heiress to the Loews empire, took the reins of the NYPD in November 2024. During her first year, she has made notable strides in tackling long-standing issues of corruption and misconduct. Under her leadership, crimes such as shootings and homicides have plummeted to historic lows, sparking praise from some city lawmakers and media pundits.
However, Tisch's focus on policing low-level crimes across the city has been met with criticism from Democratic voters and criminal justice reform advocates. The NYPD's Quality Teams initiative, which aims to address quality-of-life issues such as aggressive panhandling and noise complaints, has also raised eyebrows among some critics who fear it represents a return to broken windows policing.
Despite these concerns, Tisch remains a stalwart leader within the department, having successfully stabilized a troubled agency that had become mired in corruption scandals. According to law enforcement experts, her greatest triumph is putting out the "dumpster fire" of corruption allegations that plagued the city's highest levels of government under former Mayor Eric Adams.
Tisch has earned praise for rooting out instances of misconduct and meting out discipline to officers found guilty of wrongdoing at a higher rate than her predecessors. However, some critics remain unconvinced, pointing to Tisch's decision to overrule a department judge and clear an officer who shot unarmed Allan Feliz during a traffic stop in 2019.
As the mayoral candidates prepare for their upcoming elections, it remains to be seen how they will address these ongoing concerns about police accountability and reform. For now, Tisch's commitment to keeping her job is a unifying factor among the candidates, albeit one that has sparked debate and skepticism among various stakeholders.
In a surprising display of unity, New York mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa have all vowed to keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her job if elected. The development has been met with both praise and skepticism from various quarters, as Tisch's tenure has been marked by significant reforms aimed at rooting out misconduct within the department.
Tisch, 44, a Harvard-educated heiress to the Loews empire, took the reins of the NYPD in November 2024. During her first year, she has made notable strides in tackling long-standing issues of corruption and misconduct. Under her leadership, crimes such as shootings and homicides have plummeted to historic lows, sparking praise from some city lawmakers and media pundits.
However, Tisch's focus on policing low-level crimes across the city has been met with criticism from Democratic voters and criminal justice reform advocates. The NYPD's Quality Teams initiative, which aims to address quality-of-life issues such as aggressive panhandling and noise complaints, has also raised eyebrows among some critics who fear it represents a return to broken windows policing.
Despite these concerns, Tisch remains a stalwart leader within the department, having successfully stabilized a troubled agency that had become mired in corruption scandals. According to law enforcement experts, her greatest triumph is putting out the "dumpster fire" of corruption allegations that plagued the city's highest levels of government under former Mayor Eric Adams.
Tisch has earned praise for rooting out instances of misconduct and meting out discipline to officers found guilty of wrongdoing at a higher rate than her predecessors. However, some critics remain unconvinced, pointing to Tisch's decision to overrule a department judge and clear an officer who shot unarmed Allan Feliz during a traffic stop in 2019.
As the mayoral candidates prepare for their upcoming elections, it remains to be seen how they will address these ongoing concerns about police accountability and reform. For now, Tisch's commitment to keeping her job is a unifying factor among the candidates, albeit one that has sparked debate and skepticism among various stakeholders.