New NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to be sworn in – NBC New York

New York City is getting a new police commissioner on Monday, with sanitation chief Jessica Tisch sworn into her new position.

The city government stalwart and former NYPD official will become the second woman in the high-profile, high-pressure incumbent.

The move comes at a critical time for the nation’s largest police department, which is strengthening its leadership after a tumultuous period punctuated by the departure of former commissioner Edward Caban in September amid a federal investigation. Days later, his temporary replacement, Thomas Donlon, announced that he, too, was wanted by the FBI.

Tisch, 43, the Harvard graduate of a wealthy New York family, has worked in the city for 16 years and held leadership positions at various institutions. As the sanitation commissioner, he became famous on TikTok in 2022 when he declared, “Rats don’t run the city, we do.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams praised Tisch as a “visionary” and praised his performance in improving city operations, saying, “I need someone to lead the police department into the next century.”

Tisch said he “deeply believes in the nobility of the police and the police profession” and is “looking forward to returning home.”

Tisch’s first job in city government was in the NYPD’s counterterrorism bureau. As director of planning and policy, he helped shape the post-9/11 security infrastructure, deploying mobile radiation detectors and developing a digital information-sharing tool that provided instant access to surveillance cameras and license plate readers.

As deputy commissioner of information technology, he pioneered the use of body-worn cameras and smartphones, changed 911 dispatch, introduced a gunshot detection system and worked with the city’s transit agency to make police radios work in the subway.

“Once I started, I never wanted to stop,” Tisch told the Harvard alumni publication last year.

Tisch’s tenure exceeds that of three mayors: Michael Bloomberg, Bill de Blasio and Adams.

De Blasio tapped him to run the city’s tech agency in 2019 after more than a decade at the NYPD. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged the following year, he played a key role in the city’s response by managing the digital infrastructure that facilitated the rapid transition to remote working, learning and online services.

As Sanitation Commissioner since 2022, Tisch has spearheaded what the department calls the “Trash Revolution,” aimed at improving cleanliness, reducing odor and eliminating rats. The city finally began requiring garbage bags to be placed in trash cans for collection; This is something other cities have been doing for years.

Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, Tisch was testifying at a City Council hearing on trash requirements, his last stint as Sanitation Commissioner. After about 90 minutes, he said he had a “tough break” and had to leave without any indication of his new job.

Tisch’s family wealth led to criticism that he was a nepo baby, or rather a nepo appointee.

Adams turned down that offer Wednesday, saying Tisch “doesn’t need to get into city government.” “He is here because of his love for the city.”

Tisch’s father, James S. Tisch, is chairman and CEO of Loews Corporation, which owns Loews Hotels and CNA Financial. His mother, Merryl Tisch, is the former chancellor of the state Board of Regents, which oversees education.

His late grandfather, Laurence Tisch, once ran CBS. His cousins ​​are co-owners of the NFL Giants. The family has donated millions of dollars to cultural and academic institutions, and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts bears its name.

Her husband, Daniel Levine, is a venture capitalist. They have two sons.

Closer to his new job, his uncle Andrew Tisch and his cousin Alexander Tisch sit on the board of directors of the New York City Police Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds some NYPD work, including the deployment of counterterrorism officers to more than a dozen cities around the world. tip rewards program.

Tisch told the Harvard Law Bulletin that it was a friend who pointed him toward public service.

Tisch told the publication in 2019 that he graduated with law and MBA degrees in 2008, but “the financial crisis was hitting and I thought it would be hard to find a job.”

“A friend of mine said: ‘Why don’t you go work for the NYPD? ‘I know someone there.’ I said, ‘I can’t imagine what someone like me would do in the Police Department,'” Tisch said.

Then-deputy commissioner for counterterrorism David Cohen suggested Tisch work for him, which led to his first job as director of planning and policy.

Tisch recalled him telling her: “I don’t know. The fight against terrorism sounds really scary. I’m more into ‘Law and Order’ type stuff.

But she said Cohen told her: “Trust me, this will be right for you.”

As deputy commissioner of information technology from 2014 to 2019, he helped modernize the department while navigating and backtracking on criticism of his decision to give officers smartphones using the unpopular Windows Phone operating system.

After the New York Post called the decision a costly boon in 2017, Tisch explained in a blog post that he chose the phones because they integrate with existing department technology and allow for faster emergency responses while putting vital data at officers’ fingertips. He wrote that the project was 45% under budget at the time and that phones and iPhone replacements were provided free of charge.

Tisch got into trouble again when he loaned a former NYPD colleague $75,000 for law school and later forgave the debt after the person was rehired, transferred to his supervision, and given a pay raise. The city’s Conflicts of Interest Board fined him $2,000.

Now he takes charge of a department that is even more chaotic.

Adams’ first commissioner, Keechant Sewell, made history by becoming the first woman in the post, but resigned last year, with just 18 months left in her term, amid speculation that he was undermining her authority.

Under his replacement, Caban, the NYPD became more lenient in disciplining officers and more aggressive in handling criticism. Some senior lawmakers posted social media messages targeting critics and reporters or condemned them in person or on the phone. The department even abandoned its long-time slogan of “Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect”, which focused on crime-fighting and public safety.

Associated Press reporter Philip Marcelo contributed to this report.