"Mayor Zohran Mamdani moved one of his core campaign promises closer to reality Thursday, as he created the new Office of Community Safety via executive order, which will initially focus on reshaping the city's response to mental health crises. Newly-appointed Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Renita Francois will be tasked with assessing how programs like B-HEARD can be expanded and better supported."
"Mamdani cast the move as the administration's first concrete step toward the broader Department of Community Safety he promised on the campaign trail—pitched as a $1.1 billion city agency that would take over several responsibilities from the NYPD related to mental health emergencies, victims' services and gun violence."
"The mayor said the city could not afford to wait for a longer legislative or charter process and argued that New Yorkers in crisis have too often been met with a patchwork of city programs and an overreliance on police."
Mayor Zohran Mamdani established the Office of Community Safety through executive order on March 19, 2026, during his 78th day in office. Renita Francois, a veteran of the de Blasio administration and the first Black deputy mayor in Mamdani's administration, was appointed to lead the office. The office will initially focus on expanding and improving mental health crisis response programs like B-HEARD, the city's 911 protocol for mental health events. This move represents the first concrete step toward Mamdani's broader campaign promise of creating a $1.1 billion Department of Community Safety that would transfer responsibilities from the NYPD related to mental health emergencies, victims' services, and gun violence prevention. The mayor emphasized the urgency of action, arguing that New Yorkers in crisis have been inadequately served by fragmented city programs and excessive police involvement.
Read at www.amny.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]