NEW YORK (WABC) — Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday that Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch will be the next Commissioner of the NYPD, effective Monday.
Tisch, 43, will become the second female to serve in the role in the department’s 179-year history. The first, Keechant Sewell, was also appointed by Adams.
Tisch is a 12-year veteran of the NYPD and the current commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation. She previously served as a counter-terrorism analyst and eventually rose to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Information and Technology.
“I’ve seen firsthand the profound nobility of the policing profession, and I was proud to work shoulder-to-shoulder with both uniform members and civilians to propel the NYPD into the next century of technological advancement,” Tisch said. “I thank Mayor Adams for the tremendous honor to now lead the NYPD, and I understand the solemnity of this great responsibility.”
As DSNY commissioner, Tisch led the successful execution of the Adams administration’s “Trash Revolution,” which has containerized 70% of the 44 million pounds of trash.
“The people of this city have been clear that they agree with what our administration has been fighting for since day one in office: a safer city where they don’t need to worry about walking down the street or taking the subway at night,” Adams said. “To ensure New Yorkers have the ability to thrive in our city, we need a strong, battle-tested leader who will continue to drive down crime and ensure New Yorkers are safe and feel safe, and I cannot think of a leader more up to the task than Commissioner Jessica Tisch.”
Interim police commissioner Thomas Donlon had hoped to stay in the role, but the mayor said he will stay with the administration in another role.
“I also want to thank Interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon for serving our city over the last two months, after a lifetime of serving our state and this country,” Adams said. “We appreciate his willingness to quickly come on board and dedicate day and night to this city. I look forward to having him serve in his new role.”
Meanwhile, First Deputy Commissioner Javier Lojan will temporarily take over the sanitation department.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry released the following statement:
“Through the numerous recent changes in the NYPD’s leadership, the challenges confronting police officers on the street have remained the same. We are critically understaffed, massively overworked and completely unsupported by a justice system and an oversight regime that care more about punishing cops than helping us get dangerous criminals off the streets. We hope to partner with Commissioner Tisch to make real progress on these issues as quickly as possible. The future of the NYPD and the entire city depends on it.”
Kathryn Wylde, the President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization whose members are the city’s global business leaders and major employers said safety is a major issue.
“Literally a madman has to kill three people before you can keep them in custody,” Wylde said.
To business leaders like Wylde, the harrowing episodes of violence, many times at the hands of career criminals or the mentally ill have fueled the city’s perception as a place where no one would want to work.
“The number one issue for employers is the safety of their people. The reason they’re in NY is we’re the greatest aggregation of talent in the world and that’s why they’re here and they’re not gonna be here if the talent doesn’t wanna be here,” Wylde said.
“The mission is to keep you safe, to make you feel safe, and to improve your quality of life. To restore dignity and order to every street, every neighborhood, every borough of the city of New York,” Tisch said.
The need to lobby Albany to revise laws around discovery and how the mentally ill are treated- a challenge in itself.
And a tall order given the political hurdles the department is facing every day.
Wylde, whose partnership for New York City supports businesses that move jobs here, says Tisch is more than up for the challenge.
“Jessie Tisch is whip-smart. and she has great empathy for the NYPD and what they’re going through,” Wylde said.
Jessica Tisch will be the mayor’s fourth pick in just under three years and her to-do list seems impossibly long.
She’ll be sworn in on Monday.
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