Jessica Tisch will remain the New York Police Department's top cop, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced on Wednesday, Nov. 19.

The department’s 48th commissioner, Tisch was appointed commissioner by the city's Mayor Eric Adams in November 2024.

"As the 48th Commissioner of New York City Police Department, Commissioner Tisch has rooted out corruption in the upper echelons of the NYPD and led a department-wide focus on accountability and transparency, while delivering historic reductions in violent crime," Mamdani, the current 34-year-old state assemblyman from Queens, released in a statement.

The move comes as Mamdani continues to appoint his transition leadership "to usher in a new era for New York City," according to his office.

"Thanks to the men and women of the NYPD, the strategies we deployed this year have delivered historic reductions in crime," Tisch said in a press release. "I’ve 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 for New York City: lowering crime, making communities safer, rooting out corruption, and giving our officers the tools, support, and resources they need to carry out their noble work."

The newly-elected mayor credited Tisch for achievements, including:

  • A decrease of nearly 20% of killings across the city year-to-date;
  • Removing tens of thousands of guns from city streets;
  • The four safest months in city transit in 15 years (July, August, September and October), marking record safety underground outside the COVID-19 pandemic years.

Who is Jessica Tisch?

Tisch's previous roles with the city included serving as commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation (2022-2024) and commissioner of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (2019-2022).

"I look forward to working with Commissioner Jessica Tisch to deliver genuine public safety in New York City. I have admired her work cracking down on corruption in the upper echelons of the police department, driving down crime in New York City, and standing up for New Yorkers in the face of authoritarianism," Mamdani said.

Tisch continuing 'stellar work'

Adams, whose administration had high turnover of police commissioners, released a statement after the announcement congratulating Tisch.

"Today, because of the policies we put in place nearly four years ago and the tireless efforts of the brave men and women of the NYPD, we are in our eighth straight quarter of declining crime across the city and we have removed more than 24,000 illegal guns from our streets," Adams said.

Adams called Tisch a "star" at the Sanitation Department and praised her work with the NYPD.

"In choosing her to stay on as police commissioner, Mayor-elect Mamdani is recognizing our public-safety efforts were right and that they will continue into the future. 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."

In a post on X Wednesday, Nov. 19, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called Tisch "a steadfast partner in driving crime down to historic lows and improving public safety across the city."

"I’m glad she’ll be continuing that work under Mayor-elect @ZohranKMamdani," the governor wrote.

Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani reveals pick for NYPD's top cop

Reporting by Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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