New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he intends to keep Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner, rejecting mounting pressure from far-left activists who are demanding her dismissal and the disbanding of a specialized police unit used during certain demonstrations.

“I have no plans to change that,” Mamdani told reporters when asked about Tisch’s future, pointing to her efforts to combat corruption within the NYPD’s leadership and the city’s declining crime rates.

The controversy intensified following anti-Zionist protests targeting Mamdani last week, held on the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. Calls for Tisch’s removal grew louder the following day after federal ICE agents shot a man in New York City. Although the NYPD was not involved in the shooting, subsequent protests escalated into confrontations between demonstrators and police.

Activists have seized on the events to renew their demands for changes to the city’s approach to policing protests.

Several far-left and anti-Zionist student organizations, along with the Young Democratic Socialists of America, announced a rally for Wednesday at the City College of New York.

In their announcement, the groups called on Mamdani to remove Tisch and dismantle the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, a specialized unit that can be deployed to protests and other major incidents.

“We DEMAND Zohran Mamdani to use his position of power as mayor to dismantle the SRG and fire Jessica Tisch,” the organizers declared.

Other Democratic Socialists of America groups have also reiterated their opposition to Tisch remaining in the position.

Despite the growing pressure from activists, Mamdani appeared alongside Tisch at a memorial ceremony honoring NYPD officers who died in the line of duty. The mayor described it as a “solemn privilege” to honor 42 fallen officers, including those killed in the September 11 attacks and their aftermath, and offered condolences to their families.

Neither Mamdani nor Tisch addressed the dispute over the commissioner’s position during the ceremony. Mamdani had also canceled an earlier scheduled press availability.

.@nycmayor says he won’t be firing Commissioner Tisch https://t.co/jnN68gbfxz

— katie honan (@katie_honan) October 13, 2026