Jessica Tisch Tapped as New NYPD Commissioner by Adams
Tisch, who does not have any uniformed police experience, but has worked as a civilian appointee in the NYPD, was the was Sanitation Commissioner since 2022. She replaces interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon.
| 20 Nov 2024 | 04:56
Jessica Tisch is the newly appointed NYPD Commissioner, the fourth top cop since Adams came to power in 2022. (
)
Mayor Eric Adams in a surprise announcement at City Hall introduces Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch as his new NYPD Commissioner, the fourth person to hold the job since Adams became mayor in Jan. 2022. (
)
Weeks of speculation ended on Nov. 20 when Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch was named by Mayor Eric Adams to be the new police commissioner.
Tisch is a member of prominent Big Apple business family that co-owns the NY Giants and the Loew’s Corp. She counts a dozen years at the NYPD in counterterrorism and technology positions, serving as deputy mayor commissioner of information and technology, although she was never a uniformed officer.
Adams called her a “battle tested leader who will continue to drive down crime and ensure that New Yorkers are safe and feel safe.”
“I need someone who can take the Police Department into the next century,” Adams said. “I need a visionary.”
She was a big supporter and advocate of the rat-hating mayor’s efforts to clean up city streets and containerize the city’s trash.
Tisch, 43, is one of the longest serving top aids in the Adams administration and becomes the second woman to lead the department in its 179 year history. She’s also fourth top cop since Adams became mayor in 2022, in an administration that has had a dizzying number of top level aid resignations over the past several months. She replaces the acting NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon, who only stepped into the job in September when former NYPD top cop Edward Caban resigned under pressure on Sept. 12. Caban had his home raided in September as part of an ongoing federal corruption probe into Adams which resulted in a four count corruption indictment against the mayor in late September. Adams has denied the bribery and corruption charges and has vowed to fight them as he prepares for what promises to be a bruising Democratic primary in June. His corruption trial is scheduled to start next April.
Caban, an NYPD careerist rose through the ranks before taking over the commissioner’s job, succeeding Keechant Sewell, the first woman to hold the job. She resigned in June, reportedly after clashing with Adams and his hands on management of the NYPD and its top lietenants.
Donlon got into a very public clash during a photo op at the NYC Marathon with Tarik Sheppard, who is the deputy mayor of communications and who was foisted on Donlon as his chief of staff. Donlon reportedly wanted to get the interim removed from his title, but aside from the clash with Shepard, he had his home raided by federal agents only eight days after he became the top cop. He said at the time that the material sought was connected to his time at the FBI years earlier and did not involve work for the NYPD.
The NYPD has also has had a bumpy time with the media with several top officers clashing with journalists and making controversial postings on social media.
She takes over a department that has sagging morale, high turnover and has had the usual high level clashes between top brass and working journalists including the city’s three major daily papers, the New York Times, the New York Post and the Daily News.