NYC Mayor Faces Pressure to Fire Police Commissioner Tisch

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing increasing pressure from the left wing of his political coalition, with socialist allies and pro-Palestinian activists demanding the dismissal of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The calls intensified following a Thursday shooting incident involving an ICE agent, which resulted in the injury of a Dominican man while his five-year-old son was in the car.

Daryaliza Avila Chevalier, a Democratic primary winner endorsed by Mamdani and expected to join Congress next year, publicly called for the disbandment of the NYPD's Strategic Response Group and Tisch's resignation. She stated, "The NYPD's Strategic Response Group must be dismantled as quickly as possible, and Commissioner Tisch must resign."

Seventeen other elected officials and candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists signed a letter on Friday asserting that Tisch "must cease police assistance to ICE operations and dismantle the Strategic Response Group, and if she does not, she must be fired." Mamdani's decision last year to retain Tisch, who identifies as a "proud Zionist" and comes from a prominent Jewish family, had previously reassured moderate factions and established Jewish organizations in New York, including the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council. However, progressive groups expressed reservations about Tisch at the time due to her ties to the previous administration and past criticisms of pro-Palestinian campus protests.

The anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace also joined the calls for Tisch's removal, stating that Tisch's "venomous Zionist politics, her ties to surveillance technologies, and her commitment to sharing operational methods between the NYPD and the Israeli military should have led to her dismissal immediately upon the start of the new administration." Left-wing sources are also criticizing Mamdani for not fulfilling campaign promises, such as disbanding the Strategic Response Group, ten months into his term.

Mamdani also encountered protests from pro-Palestinian activists at a Wednesday event commemorating October 7th. Protesters, who called him a "traitor" and "Ziohran" (a portmanteau of his name and "Zionist"), accused him of not doing enough to advance the pro-Palestinian agenda he was historically associated with. Chants of "Mayor Mamdani, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide" were heard, and the protest was so disruptive that organizers moved the event behind police barricades. Some signs depicted Mamdani with a Star of David and the altered name "Ziohran," criticizing his retention of Tisch, alleged inaction on Israeli real estate events in synagogues, and an anti-Semitism initiative that critics claim diverts funds to Zionist-aligned groups.

However, some of Mamdani's allies suggested the protesters did not represent his core support base. Activist Avi Stein estimated that most attendees at the protest had not supported Mamdani initially, noting signs from groups like the Maoist Communist Union and a Trotskyist publication. Stein acknowledged, though, that some demands, like dissatisfaction with Tisch remaining in office, align with sentiments within Mamdani's base.