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By Joshua Scheer
Something most of the media is missing, as Ken Klippenstein reports, is a significant shift involving New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Long a controversial figure, Tisch has sparked uproar among many concerned voters and activists who hold strong opinions about her positions on a number of key issues. From the public defenders of New York at the time it was announced, stating: “As public defenders and as workers, we urge Mayor-Elect Mamdani to drop Jessica Tisch as police commissioner. Tisch’s record makes clear that she should play no role in an administration that values justice. Her tenure has strengthened a policing regime that protects the wealthy, criminalizes the poor, and escalates the repression of political dissent. Under her leadership, stops of Black and Brown New Yorkers have surged, and the policing of pro-Palestine demonstrators and other movements for justice has intensified. We see the consequences of these choices every day in courts and communities across the city.”
For more on that backlash, see the work of Scheerpost’s Diego Ramos, particularly his article “The Zohran Mamdani Count: Keeping NYPD Boss Tisch Looks Like Strike One.”
After reading Ken’s article, I searched high and low and found that much of the media is indeed missing his key point. Hidden in a recent executive order reorganizing the mayor’s office is a change that went largely unnoticed: a quiet alteration to the NYPD’s chain of command. As Ken Klippenstein reports, the police commissioner—traditionally one of the most powerful figures in New York City government—no longer reports directly to the mayor. The shift may seem bureaucratic, but sources suggest it could reshape daily power dynamics at City Hall, including how intelligence briefings are handled and how much leverage the mayor and deputy mayor can exert over police leadership.
One line from the article stood out in particular: “My favorite example of the shallowness of the coverage is CNN’s bombshell revelation that Mamdani was ‘distributing hot chocolate’ at City Hall—an image that trivializes him and the moment.” This is a clear example of what Project Censored describes as junk food news: filler content that takes up space and attention, crowding out coverage of more substantive and consequential stories.
From the work of Diego and Ken, it’s clear that this situation bears close watching. As Ken wrote back in November, this may already be “Mamdani’s first loss.” Tisch is problematic on a number of levels, but the situation raises a broader question: how does a mayor balance commitment to a political agenda with responsibility for overseeing a powerful police force? Recent experiences in Los Angeles under Mayor Karen Bass show how quickly policing issues can become politically—and practically—fraught. As reported by the LA Public Press in April, Mayor Karen Bass,a longtime champion of civil rights, was asked by UCLA professor David C. Turner III, a longtime member of BLM-LA, how “the people” could help shift city budgeting to reduce the police department’s budget and increase funding for other services. Bass responded candidly: “I’ll answer you honestly. There is not a coalition that is going to defund the LAPD. It’s not going to happen.”
Perhaps that’s why DSA candidate Rae Huang is running against Bass in the upcoming election. Below is her campaign ad highlighting her priorities and critique of current city leadership:
Sounds familiar to me—and it’s something worth watching, as socialism and Democratic machine politics may not always align. Here’s Ken’s Substack detailing all the executive orders and the first days of the administration, tasked with finding that balance.
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