NYPD Commissioner Calls Criticism of Police Efforts in Bronx 'Mischaracterization'

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch took strong exception Wednesday to a city councilman’s assertion that police aren’t doing enough in the neighborhoods that most need it.

“I have to say that the characterization that underserved communities are not experiencing the same crime reductions that the rest of the city are experiencing … is entirely wrong,” Tisch said at an NYPD budget hearing. “The communities that have been historically plagued by gun violence are leading the crime reductions in the City of New York because that is where we are utilizing our officers and our resources.”

Tisch was responding to comments made by Public Safety Committee Chairman Oswald Feliz (D-Bronx), who in his opening statement commended the NYPD, citing the officers involved in arresting the Gracie Mansion terror suspects, as well as last year’s continued drop in gun violence.

“We’ve made progress,” Feliz said. “But that progress is not reaching every community … It’s especially not reaching our remote, vulnerable communities.”

The councilman specifically cited violence in the Bronx, where 19 of the city’s 42 murders and 48 of the city’s 113 shooting incidents this year up through Sunday have occurred.

Tisch acknowledged the spike but said she expects the results seen in the Bronx last year — with more than 100 fewer shootings than in 2024 — to continue this year, especially with more than 200 additional officers ready to be sent to the Bronx shortly as the department splits the borough into two separate commands.

“I like to set records every year and intend to do that this year, including in the borough of the Bronx,” the commissioner said. “But I do not appreciate the mischaracterization of the work of the members of the department.”

An NYPD spokesperson later added that despite the increase in shootings and murders in the Bronx, the borough’s crime rate through Sunday is still down 11%, the biggest decrease citywide.

Tisch also said at the hearing that she has had talks with Mayor Mamdani about the Strategic Response Group, or SRG, the NYPD unit that often responds to protests.

Critics, including Mamdani, have called for SRG to be disbanded, saying its officers too often violated protesters’ civil rights. The mayor advocated for the disbandment of SRG during his campaign.

Tisch, who wants to keep SRG, would not characterize the talks with Mamdani but said she will stand up for any officers she believes are doing their jobs the right way.

During discussion of the NYPD’s preliminary $6.7 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, several Council members raised concerns about overtime.

Before Tisch became top cop in late 2024, the NYPD was caught up in a sex-for-overtime scandal. She then set up stricter overtime protocols.

She said that, last year, overtime dropped by 12% — a total of $144 million — compared to 2024.

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