“When the rubber hits the road”
Keegan Stephan, 41, a former Occupy Wall Street organizer, said the success of Mamdani’s fight must start with how the candidate leads the New York City Police Department (NYPD), a sprawling organization of more than 36,000 uniformed officers with an annual budget that can top $11 billion.
Stephan, now a civil rights lawyer in New York, said over-policing has led to an increase in misdemeanor arrests, especially in black and brown neighborhoods.
As a result, he said, undocumented individuals are more likely to be funneled into the legal system and more likely to be targeted by federal agents.
“The only way to really stand up to President Trump and federal law enforcement is to curb the NYPD’s own over-policing of communities of color,” Stephens said.
Mr Mamdani is acutely aware of concerns about how he will work with police, announcing on Tuesday that he would nominate Jessica Tisch, a top officer who works under Mr Adams, as police chief.
That choice didn’t suit Stefan.
“I think it’s contradictory for a Mamdani-type politician to appoint the same police chief as Eric Adams, who advocates for a completely different type of policing than Mamdani advocates,” Stephan said.
He pointed to Adams’ support for “quality of life” policing and the NYPD’s increased use of “stop-and-frisk” tactics under his administration, both of which have increased clearance rates for minor crimes in minority communities.
Complaints against NYPD officers soared during Adams’ tenure, reaching a 10-year high in 2024.
”[Tisch] “There’s been a real uptick in low-level crime enforcement…proven to be statistically ineffective and targeted at communities of color and poor communities,” he said. “It seems so inconsistent with Mamdani’s vision for policing in the city, and I fear she will become an obstacle to implementing these reforms.”
Indeed, when it comes to police reform and political protests in the city, Mr. Mamdani’s message is “significantly better” than Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Sliwa or former candidate Mr. Adams, Mr. Stephan said.
Candidates are calling for the creation of a $1 billion community safety agency to respond to non-criminal calls, including those related to mental health and homelessness.
He also pushed to give the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) final say on police discipline, moving that authority away from the police chief. He also said he would abolish the Strategic Response Group, a police force with a history of using excessive force against protesters.
But given the enormous power of the NYPD, which is under the direction of the mayor but maintains its own political power, whoever Mr. Mamdani chooses to lead the department will have enormous influence.
“I’m very concerned that no matter how progressive someone wants to be, or believe they are, or are in a position to be, once things get going, they end up following the demands of more powerful interests,” Stephens said.
