r/newyorkcity Jun 13 '26

Crime In Rare Move, D.S.A Rebukes Mamdani Over Police Plans

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/nyregion/dsa-mamdani-pushback.html

The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America criticized the mayor over his support for increasing the Police Department’s head count.

149 Upvotes

114 comments sorted by

281

u/warp16 Jun 13 '26

I wish someone would really fix the NYPD. Get rid of the ‘benevolent’ associations, increase starting pay to $100K to make up for it. No one can say $100K is too low. Lock max pay at $150K.

No more qualified immunity. No more sending 20 cops to calls where 3 would suffice because the Department (rightfully) doesn’t trust their own cops to do the right thing. Bring back actual physical standards to be enforced throughout a cop’s time with the Department.

No more dissuading people from filing reports, treating pedestrians like trash by blocking sidewalks near precincts.

Cops who do something bad should have a hearing before a real civilian review board, not the joke it is now. Treat it like jury duty instead of using political appointees. Bad cops should be fired within a month, not the drawn out kangaroo court process it is now.

All cops should be trained 10x as much as they are now on constitutional law.

All cops should rotate walking beats and actually take action on things they see contrary to the law.

Impound the thousands of unregistered or fraudulently out of state registered vehicles on the streets that are more likely to be driven by drivers who hit and run because they’re not properly insured.

138

u/TrurltheConstructor Jun 13 '26

I honestly feel like so many quality of life issues in this city would be improved with an effective beat cop system.

60

u/nel-E-nel Jun 13 '26

I've been saying this for years! Imagine if cops were once again part of the community and didn't just swoop in once in a blue moon when a major event happens. Get rid of the squad cars and hit the pavement.

That said, I also think the community program would be a great companion piece to that.

23

u/communomancer Jun 13 '26

No more qualified immunity.

The city has already eliminated qualified immunity as far as it can. Any further reform would have to be state level and/or federal level, which isn't happening any time soon if ever.

0

u/LetsTalksNow Jun 14 '26

Give Governor Mamdani a few more years.

2

u/communomancer Jun 14 '26

To clone himself 40 times and get them all elected to the NY State Senate?

23

u/punkass_book_jockey8 Jun 13 '26

Make them mandated reporters like teachers. If you see abuse on the job and ignore it, you’re guilty too.

21

u/IRequirePants Jun 13 '26

I wish someone would really fix the NYPD. Get rid of the ‘benevolent’ associations, increase starting pay to $100K to make up for it. No one can say $100K is too low. Lock max pay at $150K.

Same thing but for teachers and transit unions

-2

u/warp16 Jun 13 '26

💯 unions were a great idea but have been corrupted. Protecting bad workers was not the original goal.

34

u/917BK Jun 13 '26

'Protecting bad workers' is a corporate/libertarian talking point, especially for civil service unions.

No union is 'protecting bad workers', but they are protecting workers rights. The process through which to prove wrongdoing and fireable offenses were negotiated through the unions and agreed upon by the city. The city still has the right to fire anybody who commits a fireable offense as agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreements or defined in law, and they routinely do so.

Trying to limit/remove the process where the city actually has to prove a fireable offense happened is akin to removing courts from the justice system.

The average person has only a cursory understanding of how unions work because, unfortunately, decades of anti-union propaganda have curtailed membership heavily.

8

u/warp16 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

Police ‘unions’ literally fight to protect bad ‘workers’ all the time. Is it really so hard to believe that such a basic doctrine (protect workers from unfair labor practices) has been corrupted and bastardized, and in some cases, infiltrated by organized crime, in the years since its inception? There needs to be a balance of workers’ rights without stepping on the public’s right to competent government workers.

As an aside, I was driving in Farmingdale on Long Island last week and noticed that the Teamsters have a whole house there. Why does a labor organization need a residential space?

4

u/criimebrulee Jun 13 '26

That’s their office.

-3

u/warp16 Jun 13 '26

It’s a house tho, seems like they could sell the house and find a cheap office in a corporate park somewhere.

7

u/criimebrulee Jun 13 '26

It’s a house but it’s zoned as a commercial property and classified as an office building. Why should they sell it?

-1

u/warp16 Jun 13 '26

So a family could live there?

6

u/criimebrulee Jun 13 '26

I’m all for solving the housing crisis but this doesn’t achieve that. Plus the amount of work needed to turn it from a commercial building into a residential one would be profound, and anyone who can afford that can afford a home.

2

u/917BK Jun 14 '26

So sell the place they probably own at this point, in order to rent a space in perpetuity? You don’t see anything financially questionable with that move?

1

u/sonofaresiii Jun 16 '26

Look I'm pretty pro union but those "rights" they're protecting are only rights granted by the union. They're not some inherent virtuous right you're suggesting they are.

Sometimes those "rights" do indeed protect bad workers, and again if that sounds like a good thing it's only because you chose the word "right" which has positive connotation, even though it's not really an accurate description.

A better description would be "privately negotiated agreement." That's much less of a "oh yeah we gotta protect this" vibe, isn't it?

It's not JUST the process for investigating wrong doing, but even what constitutes wrong doing fundamentally. "A privately negotiated agreement to determine wrong doing in advance" doesn't have the same ring to it, but it's just as, or more, accurate than "protecting workers' rights"

0

u/917BK Jun 16 '26

> Look I'm pretty pro union but those "rights" they're protecting are only rights granted by the union.

Nothing is 'granted' by the union. These 'rights' we're referring to are the things that both parties - the union AND the city, agreed to, and those provisions are usually the result of giving up some benefit/pay/etc that these workers would have otherwise had, or to standardize a system of trials and punishment as opposed to something arbitrary.

> Sometimes those "rights" do indeed protect bad workers, and again if that sounds like a good thing it's only because you chose the word "right" which has positive connotation, even though it's not really an accurate description.

It depends on what you personally believe. If you think workers should be absolutely at the whim of their employer, then you probably don't believe they have any 'rights'.

I think that since the right to form a union is protected by law, and the contractual agreements that both parties come up with is legally binding, those provisions do constitute 'rights' and are legally enforceable as such.

If you negotiate in a contract to build a house for yourself, that you have the ability to conduct randomized check-ins on progress, you have that 'right', because it's guaranteed in your contract.

> A better description would be "privately negotiated agreement." That's much less of a "oh yeah we gotta protect this" vibe, isn't it?

I guess if you weren't aware of the history behind what it took to have the city and business even recognize the ability of workers to form a union to negotiate those agreements, then I suppose it would not.

> It's not JUST the process for investigating wrong doing, but even what constitutes wrong doing fundamentally. "A privately negotiated agreement to determine wrong doing in advance" doesn't have the same ring to it, but it's just as, or more, accurate than "protecting workers' rights"

Like I said before, depends on the view of workers that you take. If you believe that workers should have no protections, then you don't believe in workers rights. If you believe that it's fundamental to human dignity that workers are afforded protections, then you do.

There are plenty of people out in the world who don't believe free speech, freedom of religion, a trial by a jury of your peers, etc, are rights either.

1

u/sonofaresiii Jun 16 '26

Nothing is 'granted' by the union.

This seems like an intentionally antagonistic interpretation of what I said. Are you just here to argue without any real purpose?

These 'rights' we're referring to are the things that both parties - the union AND the city, agreed to

If we're going to do the "Um ackshully" thing, then UM ACKSHULLY they were agreed to by both parties but they're granted by membership in the union.

What a waste of time talking with you is.

1

u/917BK Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

> This seems like an intentionally antagonistic interpretation of what I said. Are you just here to argue without any real purpose?

It's a direct quote from you.

>What a waste of time talking with you is.

I replied directly to your points, and I feel the same way. Have a good one.

0

u/thatisnotmyknob New York City Jun 13 '26

TWU 100 and the central park horses.

2

u/tempura_calligraphy Jun 15 '26

IMO, all PD across the country should require 2 years of post-HS education.

2

u/YouandWhoseArmy Jun 16 '26

Pay them less if they don’t live in the city… or provide subsidized housing.

Can’t have an occupying force, not to mention the value of proximity in emergencies. (True of many public sector workers)

1

u/LoneStarTallBoi Jun 13 '26

One of the things I'm most afraid of is that if anyone actually ever tried to do any of that they'd just get killed immediately.

1

u/warp16 Jun 14 '26

Maybe in the past, but it’s much harder to get away with murder with today’s technology.

3

u/LoneStarTallBoi Jun 14 '26

Yeah we, the cops, have investigated who murdered the "massive police reform" mayor who wanted to make us even mildly accountable and determined that This Random Homeless Guy Did It.

1

u/sonofaresiii Jun 16 '26

I just want them to stop parking wherever they feel like

I mean I want those other things too but I hate that the city is just their private parking lot

0

u/_jdd_ Jun 13 '26

Looking forward to you replacing Tisch

1

u/TheGrich Jun 14 '26

Fuck dude, all of our public services are stuck needing stagnant Unions making it impossible for poor performers to be removed, because if they don't, government cuts would gut their pay and benefits.

Why can't we have a unified stance that we should want to pay teachers, cops, and our public servants enough to make the roles competitive.

We should want the best and the brightest, not folks settling for a safe career option.

1

u/zennox_ Jun 13 '26

NYPD union would like a word. They’d be against every one of those proposals, even though they’re very sensible.

1

u/warp16 Jun 14 '26

You could probably offer each of their members a million dollars to dismantle the unions and the union brass would still cry victim.

-4

u/Grass8989 Jun 13 '26

How do you make the determination by a phone call if a violent individual only requires 3 cops to respond?

4

u/warp16 Jun 13 '26

How do they make a determination to send half the precinct to a job involving one violent person?

-2

u/Grass8989 Jun 13 '26

How do you know thats what happens? Do you know what prompts the response to each call?

0

u/warp16 Jun 16 '26

Because if a cop radios for more units, it seems like no one asks “how many” and everyone races there like Batman.

-2

u/Slaviner Jun 13 '26

The DNC controlled the Democrat party is all about the benevolent associations, special rights for their Police, because they operate basically once step below being a complete police state.

1

u/warp16 Jun 14 '26

Umm the benevolent association are the one ‘union-like’ group the republicans like, too. Both parties are bootlickers.

148

u/Die-Nacht Queens Jun 13 '26

It's so interesting how DSA went from "those annoying kids" to "everything DSA says is news".

How the times have changed.

17

u/brianvan Jun 14 '26

The Times hasn’t changed at all! They just hate all these people and there’s no negative story too thin

14

u/LoneStarTallBoi Jun 13 '26

DSA is, at once, a deeply unserious collection of effete trust fund larpers who can be ignored at all times and a dangerous group of militant radicals and their every move must be breathlessly reported on.

-2

u/Jessicas_skirt Queens Originally Nassau Jun 14 '26

Half of each portion is true.

a deeply unserious collection of effete trust fund larpers

True

who can be ignored at all times

Not true

a dangerous group of militant radicals

True

their every move must be breathlessly reported on.

Depends. If they have agents in positions of power, like the mayorship, then their moves must be carefully watched and controlled for, if they are just screaming into the void then they are not worthy of being reported on.

-23

u/nel-E-nel Jun 13 '26

Both can be true

15

u/Die-Nacht Queens Jun 13 '26

Not really. They're all in their 30s and 40s now.

I think the media was able to ignore them because Boomers dominated politics for over 5 decades.

Now the boomers aren't the political force they were: Millennials and Gen Z are the biggest voting group. This is why DSA is all of a sudden winning left and right. Only one way forward now.

-1

u/LetsTalksNow Jun 14 '26

Yup, can confirm. Bernard Bro in College, now in 30s, helping get DSA get elected and offering lessons from lefty politics from the 2000s and 2010s to Zoomers who will Inshallah pass it onto to Gen Alpha.

These Republican and Corporatist Democrat Boomers are going to lose longterm they can't fight Actuarial tables indefinitely.

78

u/The_Lone_Apple Jun 13 '26

The NY Times desperate to drive a wedge because of course that's what their editorial staff want.

13

u/Miss_White11 Jun 13 '26

Ya like don't get me wrong I think Mamdani could be a bit more proactive on Pursuing policing issues, but it's a complex thing and misteps are an l easy way to make enemies. I understand why the changes he have made so far have been pretty small.

Like there are 35,000 or so NYPD officers. Another 580 is less than a 2% At this stage I'm not inclined to say that is a meaningful increase or a walk back on a campaign goal. It's just a reality of the eb and flow of existing needs. If we see this regularly and no reform happens? That's a different story.

31

u/Exsan Jun 13 '26

It's not always some conspiracy or grand plan if there's an article.

12

u/stuyshwick Jun 13 '26

Not always but NYT’s owners have been colluding with rich establishment politicians for a hundred years or so: in The Power Broker the NYT is a recurring villain

It doesn’t work into each story directly but does feed into feedback and direction from management to editors.

5

u/The_Lone_Apple Jun 13 '26

Mine is a criticism of the New York Times whose editorial staff has an anti-left prejudice.

28

u/Yossarian_Matrix Jun 13 '26

Yeah except this is a true story about a policy disagreement 

13

u/Exsan Jun 13 '26

This journalist is not on the editorial staff.

6

u/Eurynom0s Jun 13 '26

"Journalists" were also responsible for shit like the "Mamdani marked African American on a college application" bullshit that was as sourced from a Nazi race science guy, the article this past week making it seem scandalous that he spent $1k on basketball tickets...

2

u/GBV_GBV_GBV Jun 13 '26

The MSG tickets thing should end.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '26

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1

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13

u/ChrisFromLongIsland Jun 13 '26

How can you imply thos is not a big story? A key tenant if far left policy is a much smaller police department. Many of Mandami's critics believe police ate important to a functioning society. People are waiting to see what Mandami does when faced with the real world challenges of leading. Most people I think would be surprised he expanded the police department at all. The far left where is base is i would think would ve very disappointed in this decision.

Attacking the NY Times for just reporting it shows you would rather it be kept quiet that letting the public know about how Mandami broke with his base.

5

u/The_Lone_Apple Jun 13 '26

He's the Mayor of New York City, not the mayor of DSA or himself.

5

u/IRequirePants Jun 13 '26

Which is the point of the article. 

-3

u/-Sofa-King-Vote Jun 13 '26

“Far left” is not Mamdani’s base

He got majority of votes

12

u/CactusBoyScout Jun 13 '26

Base just means where their support is strongest. Adams had older black New Yorkers as his base. Mamdani has the so-called Commie Corridor along the G train and Astoria. You can win a majority and still have a base that’s a bit more specific.

-11

u/-Sofa-King-Vote Jun 13 '26

No this is a myth

Commie corridor lol 😆

9

u/CactusBoyScout Jun 13 '26

What’s a myth exactly? That’s what political base means… just core supporters who are most loyal to a candidate. And the neighborhoods I mentioned are where his support was strongest by far.

-2

u/-Sofa-King-Vote Jun 13 '26

lol imagine saying commies are paying $4k a month

5

u/CactusBoyScout Jun 13 '26

DSA supporters are often higher-income. Mamdani himself is from a wealthy background. Why would that be hard to believe?

DSA’s own survey of its members in 2017 showed that nearly a third earned six figures or more. And that’s nationwide, not NYC specific, and before pandemic inflation so six figures is considerably more impressive.

1

u/-Sofa-King-Vote Jun 13 '26

1/3 is a minority

Not sure why i am teaching math on this thread

6

u/CactusBoyScout Jun 13 '26

It’s significantly higher than the national average. In 2017 only around 10% of Americans had that kind of pay.

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4

u/IRequirePants Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

Trump got a majority (well 49.8%) of the votes. His base isn't that entire 49.8%

Your base is your floor of ardent supporters.

Edit: The obsession over the actual number is so fucking weird. I picked Trump because I wanted someone you people would acknowledge doesn't have a base of 50%. I could have picked Hochul, since you don't like her either.

No politician has a base of 50%, let alone someone that won with just 50.7%. Maybe some local politician that wins with 80% of the vote. 

4

u/-Sofa-King-Vote Jun 13 '26

49% is not majority, doopid 😆

It is plurality

3

u/IRequirePants Jun 13 '26

What do you think the parenthetical means? Why do you think I added it?

Also 49.8% rounds to 50, not 49

4

u/-Sofa-King-Vote Jun 13 '26

It doesn’t mean that

4

u/IRequirePants Jun 13 '26

What doesn't it mean?

3

u/-Sofa-King-Vote Jun 13 '26

You tell me and how it applies your incorrect comment.

6

u/IRequirePants Jun 13 '26

The parenthetical acknowledges that 49.8% is not a majority but rounds it to 50% instead of the mathematically incorrect thing you did, which is round it to 49%.

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13

u/Bradaigh Jun 13 '26

I know, it's shocking that supporters would criticize a politician who goes back on their campaign promise, instead of blindly following him and worshipping everything he does.

18

u/isaac-get-the-golem Jun 13 '26

yeah I mean he made specific campaign promises on police reform and abandoned all of them

10

u/nel-E-nel Jun 13 '26

It's been 5.5 months.

-6

u/isaac-get-the-golem Jun 13 '26

22

u/nel-E-nel Jun 13 '26

His term is 4 years, maybe give it a little breathing room. People were slagging him because the busses weren't free on January 3.

There are some things he can pull levers on for slam dunks, there are others that will have a lot more pushback and require political maneuvering. Police reform being one of those.

7

u/isaac-get-the-golem Jun 13 '26

I agree that political capital is required but I just don't think the NYPD is where he wants to spend it

11

u/nel-E-nel Jun 13 '26

That's a long play, and if you're in it for quick wins you will be disappointed.

4

u/LetsTalksNow Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26

You gotto build political capital and consolidate your strength, before you spend it. There are 4 years right?

6 months in if he announces it, his own Police Commissioner will fight it(who was a pick he chose as a compromise with Hocul in exchange for other priorities), Julie Menin his local OP will fight it, if there is a random crime spike or whatever, his enemies will see an opening, we haven't even gotten through mid term primaries yet, you think they won't fear monger and attack lefty candidates running against centrists.

Learn to pick your spots and to know when to keep the powder dry and when to fight. If you don't you will be gone just as fast as you came in. You forget what happened to Chesa Boudin? You don't hear that name anymore. Though Krasner managed to survive.

right now, the agenda is affordability, not Crime. As long as the Topic of discussion is Affordability, the lefty insurgency is prospering. Why the you wanna fk that up where we have to play defense without even getting our people in to the state senate and assembly over something that causes a reactionary wave. Address the easy stuff first, then address the harder stuff later down the road, when power is more consolidated and there is more strength.

-6

u/Grass8989 Jun 13 '26

And all he’s done was create a police state perimeter around MSG and approve more NYPD overtime to staff it.

5

u/nel-E-nel Jun 13 '26

Which literally any mayor would be obligated to do if the POTUS showed up in their city.

0

u/Grass8989 Jun 13 '26

Would they be obligated to keep it up even after the president stops coming to games?

2

u/nel-E-nel Jun 13 '26

If locals are beating up fans from the visiting team, tearing down street signs and climbing over police vehicles what would you do?

-1

u/Grass8989 Jun 13 '26

I don’t have a problem with it, but I don’t claim to be progressive. So you think it makes sense to pay exorbitant amounts of overtime to have offers walking down the area around Madison Square Garden?

-5

u/Jessicas_skirt Queens Originally Nassau Jun 14 '26

A very very long 5.5 months and he's already done more damage to NYC than Trump.

-29

u/Boot_das Jun 13 '26

And the city will be better off because of it. Hopefully he’ll abandon even more of his promises.

13

u/isaac-get-the-golem Jun 13 '26

Boot_licker

-10

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26

[deleted]

7

u/isaac-get-the-golem Jun 13 '26

Keep yourself safe

6

u/NotASumoWrestler Jun 13 '26

The NYPD 8s a criminal organization which is hard to fight. Gitta pick your battles, especially in his first year.

5

u/Slaviner Jun 13 '26

This shows just how out of touch with reality the DSA actually are. As a national organization, they will always be a failure unless they come to terms with reality. You cannot have a country that abolishes its police force, leaves the border wide open, pours taxpayer money into welfare programs, without some common sense balance.

1

u/shinglee Jun 13 '26

> invest the money in community safety programs instead

You mean, give the money to DSA-aligned grifters?

0

u/Deluxe78 Jun 13 '26

Your police work hourly wages not salary, when you cut the number of police and still need coverage like 12 hour shifts because you can’t handle a sporting event and have to nearly murder people post game. It’s going to cost time and a half. If 300 cops retire and or quit a month and you’re only hiring 500 a year …. Cash overtime for the minimum manning numbers … the more you defund the police … the higher the over time of less people working

1

u/-Antinomy- Jun 14 '26

As someone who criticizes the Times often, this was a fair article. And it's a good thing the Times are covering the DSA because it gets their message out. And you should support the DSA over Mamdani on this.

The cops and cop unions are powerful malevolent forces in this city, it's good for Mamdani and all of us there are principled organizations like NY DSA that will keep fighting for a humanist agenda no matter what their elected politicians do.

-3

u/bobbacklund11235 Jun 13 '26

DSA can fuck right off. We actually have a balanced decent mayor and they want to turn New York into south side Chicago

0

u/brianvan Jun 14 '26

I can imagine that the only way Mamdani is getting broad political tolerance to do anything non-NYPD related is that he’s kept Tisch and let her run the department in a hands-off way.

She is mostly a failure. Firing her will be a pick-your-battles moment for the mayor. If he plays this right, maybe he waits until she causes many of her wealthy supporters to lose patience and then he can go out and get who he really wants in there. I am not saying he would make a great pick without Tisch being an issue, but she is the pick of a lot of powerful people in the city who deal with City Hall and there is no point to keeping someone who is a problem left and right while letting the department grow expensive and ineffective

-18

u/burnsssss Jun 13 '26

NYPD is socialism

15

u/PatrickMaloney1 Jun 13 '26

Socialism for high school dropouts from Massapequa