Mamdani Told New Yorkers How He Felt About the Police, Now He's Showing them

There were plenty of New Yorkers who did not vote for Mayor Zohran Mamdani because they knew what would happen to their city if he were elected. Since he has been in office, the predictions of those New Yorkers are sadly coming true. No snow removal after snowstorms, garbage piling up, and most recently, a mayoral visit with a man in the hospital who wielded a knife at police and was charged with attempted assault. But now that he is safely ensconced in the mayor's office, Mamdani is carrying out his vision for New York, and that vision does not include a fully staffed New York Police Department (NYPD).

Right on cue. Dumping NYPD new hires. I really don’t know why any NYPD stay. pic.twitter.com/FCpILdvtXL
— Spitfire (@RealSpitfire) February 18, 2026

On Tuesday, Mamdani claimed he “inherited a historic budget gap.” But is that just a cover for doing what he has supported in the past, defunding the police? Former Mayor Eric Adams' plan for the NYPD was to add 300 new officers by July of 2026 and increase that number to 2,700 by 2027. Adams' plan would eventually bring the total number of new officers to 5,000 by July 2028. Adams' plan would also enable the NYPD to put roughly 40,000 officers on the streets of New York. But all of that will come to an abrupt halt under Mamdani. The NYPD budget for fiscal year 2027 is $6.4 billion. Mamdani would decrease that by $22 million and would cap the number of officers on the street at 35,000.

From the beginning, Zohran Mamdani has made no secret about his feelings about New York's finest. His campaign platform included creating a Department of Community Safety. This Department would "prevent violence before it happens by prioritizing solutions which have been consistently shown to improve safety." While campaigning, he appeared to walk back his previous defund the police stance, and stated that "Police have a critical role to play." This new department would "invest in citywide mental health programs and crisis response—including deploying dedicated outreach workers in 100 subway stations..." So, instead of police dealing with knife-wielding suspects, mental health professionals and social workers will man the subways and handle those cases, unarmed.

In addition to the stealthy defunding of the police, Mamdani is also fulfilling another campaign promise, all in the name of balancing the city budget, and that is, surprise, raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and corporations. He stated:

There are two paths to bridge this gap. The first is the most sustainable and the fairest path. This is the path of ending the drain on our city and raising taxes on the richest New Yorkers and the most profitable corporations.

ALSO READ: Knife-Wielding Man Shot After Charging NY Cop — Mamdani Demands Mental Health Care, Not Criminal Charges

Bend over, NYPD. Zohran the Moron is in charge. https://t.co/otD1HmwKvJ
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) February 18, 2026

None of this should come as a surprise to New Yorkers. Zohran Mamdani clearly stated who he was and what he wanted to do if elected mayor. Now he is doing it. The problem is that Mamdani, like a good socialist, no doubt read every book on socialism there is, and all of them said that taxing the rich would work. What they left out was the part about the rich being able to pack up and head to friendlier financial climates. What does he do then? Well, he gave a hint of that too, saying:

And if we do not go down the first path, the city will be forced down a second, more harmful path. Faced with no other choice, the city would have to exercise the only revenue lever fully within our own control. We would have to raise property taxes. We would also be forced to raid our reserves to balance the budget as required by law.

Let's review: no snow removal, no trash pickup, defunding the police (let's be honest, that's what it is), taxing the rich, and when the rich leave, hiking property taxes. In case you had not figured it out yet, New York, it could be a long four years for you.

Cancelling the plan to hire 5,000 new police officers is a serious mistake.

Public safety isn't where you cut.

With budget projections swinging wildly in recent weeks, this feels less about fiscal necessity and more about ideology.

New Yorkers deserve a fully staffed NYPD.
— Frank Morano (@frankmorano) February 19, 2026

Editor's Note: New York City is now facing the consequences of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist takeover.

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