Earlier today, Mayor Eric Adams announced that he has appointed Jessica Tisch as the new NYPD Commissioner. A 17-year veteran of city government, Tisch began her career as a counter-terrorism analyst for the NYPD in 2008, where she would advance with several civilian positions before being appointed Deputy Commissioner of Information Technology in 2019 by Mayor Bill de Blasio. In 2022, Adams appointed her to the position of Commissioner of the Department of Sanitation.
Tisch’s technical and managerial background in her previous positions at the NYPD and DSNY were highlighted as the main drivers behind her selection as the next police commissioner. “Much of the technology you see now in the New York police department started under Commissioner Tisch,” said the mayor as he introduced her in City Hall, “and we want to continue to see that grow.” He emphasized the continuing role of technology in the police’s future, saying that he “need[s] a visionary” who can “take the police department into the next century.”
The mayor also credited Tisch with the “launch of the trash revolution” as commissioner of DSNY. Under her leadership, 70 percent of the 44 million pounds of trash collected daily is now in containers, a plan that the mayor said today was expected to take five years to implement. Adams also cited her as an integral part of the city’s COVD-19 pandemic response, crediting her with the rollout of the city’s vaccine program. “Now Commissioner Tisch will take on a new role,” he said, “fighting a different kind of vermin.”
In the midst of a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation against Mayor Adams over the past couple of months, the NYPD has not been exempted from a chaotic reshuffling in leadership. Former commissioner Edward Caban resigned in September in the wake of a raid from federal authorities related to the case against Adams, succeeded by Tom Donlon, whose home was also searched by the feds shortly after he took office. All told, nearly a dozen officials have stepped down from leadership posts in the wake of the indictment against the mayor.
Tisch’s remarks following Adams also played on her prior experiences in the NYPD, promising to “build the most nimble municipal counterterrorism apparatus in the world” and to implement “the most forward-thinking law enforcement training and technology.” Tisch’s message to New Yorkers was a promise of vigilant enforcement. “I hear you loud and clear,” she said, speaking directly to them from the podium. “The mission is to keep you safe, to make you feel safe, and to improve your quality of life.” Tisch will officially take on the NYPD commissioner job next Monday, November 25th.
