ALBANY — The Big Apple’s longest-serving top cop is warning of an “exodus” of New York Police Department cops if mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani takes City Hall.
Speaking on “The Cats Roundtable” radio program on WABC 770 AM on Sunday, Raymond Kelly, who served as police commissioner under Mayors Michael Bloomberg and David Dinkins, said Mamdani seems to be tacking toward the center publicly.
But, he said, cops aren’t going to buy the act from the far-left Queens assemblyman.
“He is a problem. He is antisemitic. He is someone who has a lot of crazy ideas,” Kelly told Cats, describing the NYPD as a “target” for Mamdani.
Former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly is predicting an “exodus” of the rank-and-file if Mamdani becomes mayor. AP
Leading mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has come under fire for his previous comments about police. REUTERS“They started leaving in big numbers at the beginning of Mayor [Eric] Adams’ term as mayor and it’s continued. And of course, with a socialist mayor, I think there is a real challenge to keep the numbers of the police department where they should be,” Kelly said.
Mamdani has issued a half-baked word-salad response despite calls for him to apologize for calling New York cops “racist” and a “threat to public safety” in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Current NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks at an event with Mayor Eric Adams in Brooklyn on Aug. 4, 2025. Stephen YangKelly, an early advocate for Adams appointing Jessica Tisch as police commissioner, said Mamdani would be wise to keep her on.
“She’s doing a great job and I’d certainly like to see her stay in the department as a commissioner. But we don’t know what her relationship will be with a socialist mayor, a Muslim mayor. We just don’t know,” Kelly said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed last week that she’s also pushing Mamdani to keep Tisch.
“I have highly recommended that he retain Jessica Tisch,” Hochul said.
