Mayor Zohran Mamdani made the correct decision by keeping New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The NYPD’s handling of the Marble Hill protests deserves serious scrutiny, but firing Tisch now would cost Mamdani the stability he needs to push through his reform agendas.

On Oct. 8, a federal immigration agent shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in Marble Hill. 

It was the latest in a string of shootings involving federal immigration officers, who have opened fire on at least 25 people since President Trump returned to office. 

The NYPD played no part in the immigration operation, but officers responding to a protest that followed clashed violently with demonstrators and shoved Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier to the ground.

In a statement, the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America quickly called for Tisch’s removal, with organizers saying the department “cleared the way for ICE.” 

The group’s national leadership followed with a social media post demanding that Mamdani fire Tisch. City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa echoed that sentiment on WNYC, and said that Tisch “has lost the trust of those of us who believe that the NYPD should be held accountable.”

Mamdani, rightly, refused to budge. “Jessica Tisch is the police commissioner, I have no plans to change that,” he told reporters on Oct. 13, according to CNN.

His reasoning rests on results. Mamdani said he chose to retain Tisch for her record of cleaning up corruption in the NYPD’s upper ranks and reducing crime. 

Their working relationship has helped deliver some of the lowest crime rates in the city’s history. 

Sacking an effective commissioner over an incident rooted in federal immigration action would undermine the administration’s public safety achievements.

Most importantly, keeping Tisch has bought Mamdani political goodwill among skeptics and moderates in the city who fear socialist leadership. 

When he first kept her on, the Associated Press reported the move could comfort worried business leaders. 

Firing Tisch to appease political allies risks paralyzing his administration in a standoff with police leadership. Instead, keeping Tisch on board signals that Mamdani can maintain public safety while focusing on his broader legislative priorities.

The deeper issue at play here is how the city polices protests. The NYPD’s Strategic Response Group has continually faced public scrutiny over its aggressive handling of demonstrations, and Mamdani remains committed to disbanding the unit. The department also plans to review its response to the hospital protests and its use-of-force guidelines.

Critics of Tisch and the mayor still have a fair point. It is incredibly difficult to defend footage of an officer pushing a congressional nominee to the ground. 

When pressed on whether he still had faith in Tisch’s work, Mamdani walked away from the cameras.

Still, frustration over the response to the protests is an argument in favor of more accountability, not a removal.

 A new commissioner would inherit the same unit, the same tactics and the same unanswered questions.

Mamdani kept Tisch for the right reasons. Now he must prove it by following through on his police reform agenda. Otherwise, those calls for Tisch’s removal will grow louder.