Concerns are rising that the NYPD’s security policies may be curtailed in the future as the “Committee on Community Safety” of New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani’s transition team, announced on the 24th, includes many anti-police figures.
The New York Post reported on the 26th that “Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and author of ‘The End of Policing,’ is included on the list of members of Mamdani’s transition team,” adding that “He is a ‘police abolitionist’ and a prominent anti-police figure.”
‘The End of Policing’ is a book that criticizes the police’s ‘Broken Windows’ policy and argues for the ultimate abolition of the police and is criticized for containing statements such as “the problem lies with policing itself. The police are not there to protect you.”
The New York Post then classified the list of Korean-Americans on the transition committee for the safety committee, including Joo-hyun Kang, director of the Community Coalition for Police Reform (CPR), Jose Lopez, director; Dana Rachlin of the Brownsville Coalition for Safety; Tamika Mallory, a gun control activist; and Erica Ford, founder of the violence-ending nonprofit Life Camp, as anti-police figures.
The New York Post reported that “CPR director Joo-hyun Kang is an ardent advocate of NYPD budget cuts and has criticized the police union as an obstacle to police reform, saying that the union is synonymous with the police.” The Post also reported that CPR director Jose Lopez is an opponent of the “broken windows” policy of the police and has even led a campaign against it.
Analysis suggests that conservatives, who had expected pro-police policies after Mamdani appointed current NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch as the first police commissioner in his administration, are starting to worry about anti-police policies again with the list of members on the transition committee for the safety committee.
Meanwhile, the New York Post added that pro-police figures were also included, including Rodney Harris, a former NYPD officer and former Suffolk County Police Chief; Hassan Naveed, who previously headed the hate crimes unit; and Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance.