(The Center Square) – Democratic socialists are accusing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of reneging on a key campaign pledge with his administration gearing up to boost the the New York Police Department’s headcount.
Mamdani’s preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget proposes to increase the Police Department’s rank and file by at least 580 officers – calling for another $70 million in the spending plan. The mayor cited efforts to improve safety on the public transit system and as it plans to host a summer of big events, including several World Cup matches.
The New York City Democratic Socialists of America, instrumental in helping Mamdani get elected, blasted the move to grow the city’s police headcount in a rare public rebuke of the mayor’s lefty policies. The group said Mamdani had pledged to downsize to focus on expanding community policing initiatives.
“Increasing the police presence in our city will not ensure safer communities” a statement from the organization said. “When police serve as default first responders, New Yorkers are placed in harm’s way, sometimes with fatal consequences. We are calling on Mayor Mamdani to reverse this proposed expansion of the NYPD and invest the money in community safety programs instead.”
The Democratic Socialists of America acknowledged that Mamdani “has taken a significant step” toward improving the Police Department by creating the Office of Community Safety. It said increasing the number of officers by 580 “runs counter to the values of the socialist and working-class movement that elected him,” the organization said.
“To achieve true public safety and well-being, the mayor must accelerate the creation of the Department of Community Safety and establish a timeline to move social welfare functions out of the NYPD and into the Office of Community Safety and other appropriate agencies, working with directly impacted New Yorkers and advocates to develop a non-police crisis response system and a continuum of care before crisis,” the Democratic Socialists of America said.
Mamdani has defended his reversal on increased staffing, telling reporters last week it was necessary because of a new 200-officer patrol in the Bronx and a recent decision to add to police academy training requirements for new recruits before they hit the streets.
“Because of these two issues, we saw there’s a slight increase in the budgeted headcount, and that is as a result of both of these,” Mamdani told broadcast outlet WNYC last week.
On the campaign trail, Mamdani was dogged by questions about his previous support for “defunding” the New York Police Department as part of a progressive agenda. He denied that he wanted to pull funding from the police agency and has talked about plans to create a new unit specifically focused on responding to mental health-related incidents.
Law enforcement groups warned that the department could see “walkouts” or a mass exodus under the Mamdani administration, but it remains unclear if police officers are leaving the department.
Former Mayor Eric Adams, a ex-captain in the Police Department, proposed hiring 5,000 more new officers before stepping down in January. But the hiring surge was blocked by Mamdani, who rescinded all previous orders by his predecessor shortly after taking over City Hall in January.
