Socialist Mayor SLASHES NYPD Hiring

New York City’s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani is slashing police hiring plans and cutting the NYPD budget while pushing massive tax hikes on the wealthy, raising serious concerns about public safety in America’s largest city.

Story Highlights

Mayor Mamdani cancels predecessor’s plan to hire 5,000 additional NYPD officers, keeping force at 35,000 instead of planned 40,000
Preliminary budget proposes $22 million cut to NYPD’s $6.4 billion budget while leaving public safety initiatives unfunded
Democratic socialist mayor inherited $12 billion deficit, now pushing tax increases on wealthy New Yorkers as alternative to broader cuts
Decision comes amid heightened security concerns and follows federal corruption indictment of previous mayor Eric Adams

Mamdani Reverses Police Expansion Plans

Within hours of taking office in early 2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani canceled his predecessor’s comprehensive police hiring initiative. Former Mayor Eric Adams had proposed adding 300 officers by July 2026, scaling to 2,500 by July 2027 and reaching 5,000 new hires by July 2028. This expansion would have brought the NYPD to 40,000 officers, addressing post-pandemic crime concerns. Mamdani’s abrupt reversal keeps the force at approximately 35,000 officers, abandoning the enhanced street deployment strategy Adams championed before his September 2024 federal corruption indictment.

Budget Cuts Target Law Enforcement Amid Deficit Crisis

Mamdani’s preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget proposes a $22 million reduction to the NYPD’s $6.4 billion budget while maintaining the department near current funding levels. The democratic socialist mayor inherited a staggering $12 billion budget deficit, which his administration reduced to $5.4 billion through various measures. At a recent press conference, Mamdani framed the decision as a choice between two paths: taxing wealthy residents or raising property taxes and raiding city reserves. This approach prioritizes progressive taxation over traditional law enforcement investment, a concerning shift for New Yorkers worried about crime.

Public Safety Plans Left Unfunded

While maintaining the NYPD budget near $6.4 billion, Gothamist reports that Mamdani’s proposed safety initiatives remain unfunded in the preliminary budget. The mayor appeared alongside NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch at a January 28 press conference at the Chabad Lubavitch incident site, attempting to demonstrate commitment to public safety. However, canceling planned officer hires while leaving safety programs without funding raises questions about the city’s ability to respond effectively to crime. This comes as New York continues post-pandemic recovery, with residents facing uncertainty about police staffing levels during a period when enhanced security remains critical, evidenced by heightened NYPD presence in Times Square on December 31, 2025.

Socialist Agenda Drives Budget Priorities

Mamdani’s budget decisions reflect his democratic socialist campaign platform, which emphasized progressive taxation and anti-corporate measures over traditional law enforcement. The mayor explicitly stated his preference for taxing the rich rather than cutting what he termed “vital resources,” though his definition notably excludes police expansion. His administration is also pursuing interventions in landlord bankruptcies and alternative revenue streams including property tax hikes. This represents a fundamental departure from Adams’ approach, which prioritized police expansion for enhanced street deployment. The tension between progressive fiscal policies and public safety concerns illustrates the broader national debate about law enforcement funding that conservatives have warned undermines community security.

The preliminary budget remains subject to City Council approval and state legislative authorization for tax increases, with final outcomes uncertain. Mamdani defended his approach as necessary to overcome the budget crisis, but the combination of canceled police hires, proposed NYPD cuts, and unfunded safety initiatives raises legitimate concerns about whether New York City can maintain public order while pursuing an ideological agenda that deprioritizes law enforcement.