Zohran Mamdani once slammed police as ‘wicked’—now his inauguration needs hundreds

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration celebration on New Year’s Day will require between 350 and 400 police officers in New York City source said. The event, titled the “Inauguration for a New Era Block Party”, will span seven blocks from Liberty Street to Murray Street on the Canyon of Heroes thoroughfare, a stretch normally reserved for ticker-tape parades.

A police source with more than 25 years on the job said, “It’s going to cost a lot of money in overtime.” “He’s having this celebration with all these people who hate the police and we have to be there to protect them.” If each officer earns about Rs 8,300 an hour in overtime, with detectives, lieutenants and chiefs making higher rates, the security detail could cost upwards of Rs 4.15 crore (approx), the source estimated.


“It’s ironic that he wants to spend all this money using city services while saying he wants to cut the budget of the NYPD,” said a second law enforcement source. “I think it goes to show how naive he is.”

Mamdani has been a vociferous critic of New York City’s police force and called for defunding during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. He described officers as “racist” and “anti-queer” and labelled the NYPD “wicked and corrupt”. The inclusion of a left-leaning political strategist known for supporting the anti-cop movement on his transition team has drawn further criticism.

Elena Leopold, executive director of the Mayor-elect’s all-female transition team, was among more than 230 present and former staffers of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio who signed a June 2020 open letter demanding “radical change” to criminal justice policies at the NYPD.

Mamdani has also pledged not to recruit new police officers, despite the force – which currently numbers around 33,000 to 34,000 – remaining well below its peak strength of more than 40,000 in 2000. Police sources warned that officers and detectives will be diverted from customary patrol and investigative duties to staff the event.

“I don’t think he’s aware of where the police department is in terms of staffing levels,” a source said. “They’ll take detectives away from the important work they’re doing to work this event.”

A longtime NYPD officer noted that New Year’s Day already places a heavy demand on resources. “That many cops on New Year’s Day is a huge hit because you already have a detail of thousands working the ball drop,” the officer said. “And the precincts are all upstaffed on that night because it’s a very busy night.”

A source suggested the Mayor-elect could deploy social workers and violence interruptors in place of officers. “Why didn’t you staff it with social workers and violence interruptors?” the source joked. “It’s bad optics from the average person’s point of view. He’s coming in and he’s the man of the people but the first thing he does is throw himself a party.”

A retired sergeant speculated whether the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group – a unit criticised for its actions at Columbia University – would be tasked with security. “I’m sure it’s going to be expensive,” the source said. “What will be interesting is if the NYPD’s SRG unit will be working it because we know he has targeted that unit for dismissal.”

The city’s Sanitation Department said it expected to deploy around 50 workers for the event and insisted the additional staffing was not a taxpayer expense. “Cleaning after public services is a not a cost – it is a budgeted service,” spokesman Joshua Goodman said.