A prominent member of the City Council has expressed concerns that Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s choice not to increase the NYPD by 5,000 officers might compromise safety for New Yorkers.
Oswald Ferris, D-Bronx and chair of the Public Safety Committee, argued that Mamdani’s hiring freeze occurs while the police department is “already facing an unprecedented staff shortage.”
“This isn’t a good situation,” he remarked to the Post on Sunday. “Cutting police personnel will only worsen issues like excessive overtime, delayed response times, and, ultimately, crime.”
Mamdani’s recent interim budget has reversed a decision made by his predecessor, Eric Adams, which aimed to bolster the police force’s numbers to levels not seen in several decades.
Adams had proposed raising the total to slightly over 40,000, while Mamdani intends to keep the figure at 35,000, adhering to his campaign promise and initiating a hiring freeze beyond that point.
Instead, Mamdani plans to establish a new division focused on mental health emergencies to allow law enforcement to concentrate on crime reduction.
However, there’s been a lack of clear details on how this new Community Safety Authority will function, particularly regarding its implementation and funding.
Mamdani’s extensive $127 billion budget does not allocate funds for this new agency, which he estimates will require $1 billion.
“Public safety should be our top priority,” Ferris emphasized.
“New York City has made strides in public safety, including maintaining record-low mass shootings, and we need to continue that momentum,” he added. “Bringing in new officers is essential for equipping police to address crime and tackle the complex challenges that ensure New Yorkers’ safety.”
City Council President Julie Menin (D-Manhattan) reiterated these worries during an appearance on FOX 5, stating that council members are carefully monitoring crime statistics.
“We want to ensure the NYPD has enough resources,” Menin pointed out. “Our police force numbers are similar to those on 9/11, despite the city’s significant growth since then.”
This issue seems to enjoy bipartisan support.
City Councilman Frank Morano (R-Staten Island) also criticized the decision to halt officer increases, calling it “the wrong decision at the wrong time.”
“Weaken the police force, and it impacts everything else,” he stated.
Back in 2019, the NYPD had nearly 38,000 personnel, but that number fell sharply in subsequent years due to retirements and challenges hiring amidst rising anti-police sentiment.
A representative from Mamdani’s office did not directly address the warnings regarding NYPD staffing, instead directing attention to the mayor’s statements made during a press conference last Thursday.
“We’ve faced retention challenges in our department in recent years. I’ve repeatedly said that the city has overburdened the NYPD with additional tasks,” Mamdani noted.
“Currently, we estimate that the NYPD handles about 200,000 mental health calls annually. A key aspect of establishing the Office of Community Safety is to begin taking on that responsibility, allowing mental health responders to address those situations while the department can concentrate on its primary mission: combating violent crime throughout the city.”
