Mamdani Moves to Defund NYC Police

Adriana Stone 0 1 min read

Mamdani Moves to Defund NYC Police

Zohran Mamdani rolled out a preliminary budget that will make people in New York sit up. He’s cutting NYPD funding. He’s canceling plans to add 5,000 officers. And he’s redirecting cash to new equity and diversity offices.

This isn’t a small tweak. It’s a clear shift in priorities. The plan would cap uniformed officers near today’s level—about 35,000—rather than grow toward the roughly 40,000 planned under the previous administration. The budget notes the city wants to “significantly reduce current vacancies,” which could mean less money for the department where hiring stalls.

The numbers sting. Reports point to about a $22 million decrease in next year’s NYPD slice of a roughly $6.4 billion budget. At the same time, Mamdani is proposing new line items for racial and gender equity offices. Those are not tiny sums. Critics say the trade-off is obvious: fewer cops on the street, more money for bureaucratic positions.

Supporters will say this is about restructuring. Opponents call it a public safety gamble. The reality is somewhere sharp: if staffing stays flat or dips, response times and patrol coverage can be affected. That’s a direct outcome, not a theory.

Political opponents are loud. They point out Mamdani built his reputation attacking police budgets and backing defund-style rhetoric. Now the choices are real. Canceling planned hires and cutting the department’s budget is a concrete policy move. Voters will judge it by how safe they feel on the streets.

There’s also a tax angle. Some versions of the budget discussion include higher property taxes to cover new spending. Critics say that’s a raw deal—more bills for residents while services that matter to safety are reduced.

Put simply: this is a fight over priorities. Do you spend to boost patrols and staffing? Or do you shift money into new equity offices and programs? Mamdani’s proposal makes one side win. The other side will push back hard.

Follow the debate. Watch city hearings. Expect pushback from public-safety advocates and Republican leaders who see this as a return to failed defund experiments. New Yorkers will decide if they want this path.

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