Central to Zohran Mamdani’s 2020 campaign for New York State Assembly was a pitch to radically constrain law enforcement. “Queer liberation means defund the police,” he posted two days after securing his seat representing Astoria, an apt coda to that election season.
It was November 2020, just months after the George Floyd protests began—a time when calls to defund the police were more common. Such a plan was arguably always a tougher sell in a mayoral campaign where candidates have to court a more politically diverse electorate than the one in western Queens, a district that overlaps with that of the socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.).
Which helps explain why Mamdani pivoted fairly dramatically on criminal justice in his run to be mayor of America’s most populous city. “I am not defunding the police,” he said on the campaign trail. “I am not running to defund the police.” One way he has tried to show he is serious about that promise: asking Jessica Tisch, who was an ally of Mayor Eric Adams, to stay on as New York City police commissioner.
That type of law enforcement partnership would have been difficult to imagine with the Mamdani who made his political debut just over five years ago. What might their differences mean for New York City?
On one hand, not much. A great deal has been made, for example, of Mamdani and Tisch diverging considerably on New York’s state bail law, which bars judges from contemplating a defendant’s dangerousness when making decisions about bond. It is the only state with that ban. While Tisch’s skepticism of that policy has merit—nearby New Jersey successfully eliminated cash bail in 2017 but did so in favor of a risk-based system—neither she nor Mamdani has the power to alter the legislation.
The same goes for their disagreements on New York’s Raise the Age law, which diverted most 16- and 17-year-old alleged offenders out of adult court. Mamdani likes the law; Tisch is against it. That debate is important, but it ultimately rests with state legislators.
Other differences are more consequential, or at least have potential to be. Currently, the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) can recommend disciplinary action after investigating allegations of misconduct at the New York Police Department (NYPD). The final say, however, belongs to the commissioner—something Mamdani campaigned on revoking.
Hellbound and Down 