Mamdani softens hard line on role of NYPD watchdog in discipline after Tisch agrees to stay on

Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News on Nov 20, 2025

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NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani is softening his stance on how much power the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board should have.

While still a candidate, Mamdani said he would as mayor empower the board — which investigates and prosecutes misconduct complaints against NYPD officers — to get the final say on what sort of disciplinary action should be taken against cops found guilty of wrongdoing. Under the current system, the board offers recommendations to the NYPD commissioner, who then gets to decide what punishment to mete out.

“What I would do is ensure that the recommendations of the CCRB be understood to be the final voice of the question of accountability,” Mamdani said in early October.

But in the wake of announcing Wednesday that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch will stay in her post under his administration, Mayor-elect Mamdani took a step back from that position.

“What I believe is that the CCRB’s recommendations should be taken seriously, that we should ensure they’re able to make those recommendations time and again,” Mamdani said Thursday when asked by the Daily News if he still plans to expand the CCRB’s authority once he’s sworn in as mayor Jan. 1.

Despite having just weeks ago pledged to push for giving the board more powers, the democratic socialist mayor-elect said his main focus is now to secure more funding for the CCRB to ensure it doesn’t have to drop disciplinary cases.

“In 2024, lack of funding led to the CCRB dropping at least 700 cases and I’ve heard estimates from others that the number is actually, in fact, higher than that,” he said. “What I am committing to is fully funding the CCRB immediately, such that we can ensure that these days of these kinds of budget battles come to an end.”

The issue first came up in an PIX 11 interview with Mamdani Wednesday to talk about his decision to retain Tisch, the highly popular top cop who was appointed NYPD commissioner a year ago by outgoing Mayor Adams.

“Under the City Charter right now, that’s the commissioner,” Mamdani said in that interview when asked who should have the final authority on disciplinary cases involving cops. “The question is, ‘Can the CCRB even follow through on the complaints?’ I’m going to make it my job to follow through on that by fully funding the entity.”

Tisch has faced criticism from police reform advocates for overruling the CCRB’s decisions in some disciplinary cases. Most recently, she drew heat in August for opting to not follow the CCRB’s recommendation to fire NYPD Lt. Jonathan Rivera for shooting and killing 31-year-old Allan Feliz during a traffic stop in the Bronx in 2019.

In shifting his focus when it comes to the CCRB, Mamdani could risk disillusioning lefty allies.

His decision to retain Tisch has already unnerved some left-leaning stakeholders in the city, given she’s vocally opposed to a number of other Mamdani campaign promises, such as disbanding the NYPD’s controversial Strategic Response Group and getting rid of the department’s gang database.

Mamdani’s new stance on the CCRB did get a cautiously optimistic reception, though, from some of the NYPD’s rank-and-file unions, which see the board as often being antagonistic to officers.

“The NYPD commissioner, like other commissioners of city agencies should have the authority to decide on the CCRB’s recommendations and it’s critical for the incoming administration to understand why the CCRB can’t act as both the judge and the jury in decisions that impact the careers of our members,” Vincent Vallelong, president of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, said in response to Mamdani’s Thursday remarks.

Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry, whose union is the NYPD’s largest and represents patrol cops, said retaining the commissioner’s ability to override CCRB recommendations is important, but took a shot at Mamdani for pressing for more funding for the board.

“The board wastes its already-inflated budget and limited staff hours by soliciting and fully investigating thousands of completely false or frivolous allegations every year, all of which can irreparably harm police officers’ reputations and careers,” Hendry said. “Extra funding and staffing will only make these problems worse, driving even more cops out the door and endangering everyday New Yorkers.”

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