Mamdani’s NYPD troubles are snowballing

Recent incidents underscore how fraught the issue of policing is for the democratic socialist.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani joins Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Governor Kathy Hochul for a public safety-related press conference. 1 Police Plaza, Manhattan, Jan. 6, 2026. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

NEW YORK — For two days running, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani downplayed footage of police officers being pelted with snowballs in a Manhattan park. His top cop? Not so much.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch was up on social media immediately Monday to condemn the snowballers. The department then released information on four suspects wanted for assault. And on Thursday, as Mamdani quietly slipped away to Washington for a previously undisclosed meeting with President Donald Trump, officers made their first collar — in direct contradiction to the mayor’s wishes.

“As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect,” City Hall spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement following Thursday’s arrest. “The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand. He does not believe this situation rises to the level of criminal charges.”

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