海角大神

She overhauled the NYPD. But can Jessica Tisch work with Zohran Mamdani?

On a walk through Queens with a City Council member in 2022, Jessica Tisch noticed an abundance of trash scattered on traffic islands, step streets, and greenways.

Ms. Tisch, who had just started her tenure as the city鈥檚 sanitation commissioner, asked why these particular areas were so littered. The reason was infuriating. City Hall had issued a rule back in 1983 that gave each agency responsibility for maintaining its own properties 鈥� leaving refuse to accumulate in no-man鈥檚-lands.

So Ms. Tisch convinced Mayor Eric Adams to allocate $14 million for a new unit that would regularly remove trash from these 1,700 locations.

鈥淚f you live in one of these neighborhoods, you see this dumping every day and you think no one cares about it,鈥� says sanitation department spokesman Joshua Goodman. 鈥淭he one thing Jessie will not accept is: 鈥楾hat鈥檚 just the way it is.鈥欌��

The public administrator and scion to one of New York鈥檚 most powerful families rapidly ascended the city鈥檚 bureaucracy to lead the nation鈥檚 largest police department last year, a position she has described as , despite never having served as a uniformed officer. Ms. Tisch鈥檚 relentless drive to modernize the NYPD and other agencies has drawn praise from former New York mayors and police commissioners across multiple administrations.

Her next boss may not be as easy to win over.

With New York鈥檚 mayoral election just two weeks away, and Mayor Adams , Ms. Tisch could soon find herself reporting to Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has criticized the police department鈥檚 entrenched power. The Queens Assembly member, who holds a double-digit lead in the polls, has for calling the NYPD 鈥渞acist鈥� and a 鈥�,鈥� and has worked to reassure voters that he 鈥渄efunding鈥� the police. But he also campaigned on creating a new that would deploy mental health teams instead of police to respond to 911 calls.

He and Ms. Tisch have eyed each other with a wary respect. Mr. Mamdani has praised Ms. Tisch鈥檚 efforts to and whom Mr. Adams, a former cop, had placed in high-ranking roles.

Late Wednesday, The New York Times that Mr. Mamdani plans to ask Ms. Tisch to stay on as commissioner, citing top campaign aides. He publicly confirmed the report during a debate that night.聽The news may help placate some of the city鈥檚 business leaders and more moderate voters who have been skeptical about Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 bid.

Still, it could be an uneasy partnership: Ms. Tisch and Mr. Mamdani have expressed sharply different views on the causes of violent crime and the best strategies for tackling it.

If he reappoints her but also slashes police funding and reorganizes the agency, Ms. Tisch could face a difficult decision. And if she leaves her post and crime rises, Mr. Mamdani could find himself in four years facing a political rival by some as a mayoral hopeful.聽

鈥淛essie has many great career options, but she is on a mission at the NYPD that I believe requires a few more years on the job,鈥� says Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City. 鈥淪he can work with anyone.鈥�

鈥淎 tough boss鈥�

Ms. Tisch was born into a family of corporate titans and philanthropists. Her grandfather, Laurence, co-owned Loews Corp., a hospitality and insurance conglomerate. Her father, James, led Loews for 48 years before stepping down in January. But it was her mother, Merryl, chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees and former Board of Regents chancellor, who instilled in her the virtues of civic leadership.

鈥淧eople ask me why I鈥檓 so driven,鈥� Ms. Tisch . 鈥淢y mother is definitely my role model.鈥� (The NYPD declined to make Ms. Tisch available for an interview.)

She grew up with two younger brothers on Manhattan鈥檚 tony Upper East Side and attended Harvard University, where she won a in crew as a coxswain and completed degrees in law and business.

Although she at a law firm and the White House while in school, it was not until a friend prodded her to apply for a counterterrorism analyst position with the NYPD in 2008 that she contemplated a career in public service.

Ms. Tisch found she excelled at the intense minutia of securing sensitive sites and foiling attacks. She was promoted in 2014 to deputy commissioner of innovation and technology.

鈥淪he can be a tough boss and doesn鈥檛 suffer fools lightly,鈥� says former New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. But she also 鈥渓eads in a way [where] people 鈥� under her have the opportunity to be heard.鈥�

In December 2019, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Ms. Tisch to lead the city鈥檚 technology office. During the pandemic, she built a contact-tracing system from scratch, then managed the distribution system that provided COVID-19 vaccines to of city residents.

When Mr. Adams asked her what agency she wanted to run, Ms. Tisch picked sanitation. There, she sought to tame the city鈥檚 , launched a citywide , and unveiled a plan to require for residential buildings.

She also made less-publicized changes that had significant effects. She had senior sanitation leaders review data weekly, which reduced missed collections to near zero. And instead of focusing on the amount of trash collected by garbage trucks, she prioritized a different metric: how long it festered on curbs.

鈥淭he efficiency metric was important, but the point of data is to improve the quality of life,鈥� says Mr. Goodman, the sanitation spokesman.

Sanitation was a bright spot in an Adams administration riddled by and 鈥� and no agency exemplified the dysfunction more than the police department. Misconduct complaints to their highest level since 2014, including among Mr. Adams鈥� hand-picked deputies, as officers in droves.

After the third police commissioner in three years last October, Mr. Adams turned to Ms. Tisch to the department. She quickly dozens of leaders, including two top internal affairs chiefs, halved the department鈥檚 press office, and began to overhaul its .

Since then, Ms. Tisch has deftly managed several high-profile cases, including the manhunt after the assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. She has also been credited with helping to the Trump administration not to send the National Guard to New York.

Her of officers to high-crime areas has already had an effect. The city has experienced seven straight quarters of declines in major crime, with the on record for any year鈥檚 first nine months.

鈥淪he knows when to be in front of the cameras and when to cede attention. That鈥檚 a rare skill in politics,鈥� says political consultant Neal Kwatra. 鈥淪he has far exceeded any perception that she鈥檚 in her job because of her name. She鈥檚 done a hell of a job.鈥�

Affordability concerns outrank crime

Partly because of Ms. Tisch鈥檚 efforts, public safety concerns this year鈥檚 mayoral campaign, unlike .

That allowed Mr. Mamdani to gain traction with his message of tackling the city鈥檚 affordability crisis, winning the Democratic primary last June.

Ms. Tisch has avoided commenting directly on the race, but has she wants to continue in her role next year. In meetings with Mr. Mamdani this summer, business leaders and public officials urged him to retain her.

鈥淜eeping her on would inoculate the next mayor against any charge that they would be soft on crime,鈥� says Ms. Wylde.

Both Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 rivals, former New York Governor and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa,聽have said they would keep Ms. Tisch on if elected.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards says Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 first question to him in an Astoria meeting two weeks after the June primary was whether he should keep her.

鈥淗e鈥檚 much more pragmatic than I thought he was,鈥� says Mr. Richards, who hopes Ms. Tisch stays in the job. 鈥淧ublic safety has to be the highest priority, especially with a progressive administration. People are looking for stability.鈥�

But Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 progressive allies may feel differently. When Ms. Tisch the Citizens Budget Commission last month that crime rose in the years following the pandemic because of the legislature鈥檚 criminal justice reforms, one Assembly member , 鈥淪o odd that the heiress of one of the city鈥檚 wealthiest families doesn鈥檛 seem to understand the sociology of social insecurity and its connection to crime.鈥� (Mr. Mamdani by noting that similar crime spikes were seen across the country.)

Mr. Bratton says Mr. Mamdani will not be able to find anyone who can rival Ms. Tisch鈥檚 experience and expertise. But the former police commissioner recently said in a that he would advise her not to stay on in a Mamdani administration.

鈥淢y suggestion is to think long and hard,鈥� Mr. Bratton tells the Monitor. 鈥淩ight now, she鈥檚 well-thought-of by the public. You don鈥檛 want to squander that in the first months of a new administration.鈥�

Regardless of what she decides, he predicts that she won鈥檛 be intimidated by the Democratic Party鈥檚 new wunderkind.

鈥淛essie likes a challenge,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 take on the position of police commissioner if you aren鈥檛 somebody 鈥� interested in taking on that challenge.鈥�

Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated on Oct. 22, the day of initial publication, to reflect news about Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 intention to ask Ms. Tisch to stay on as commissioner.