New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, of the Democratic Socialists of America, is reportedly gearing up to dismantle the New York City Police Department’s Strategic Response Group (SRG), caving to demands from his far-left base to follow through on a major campaign promise.
According to POLITICO, Mamdani plans to break up the specialized division, which handles civil unrest, major public events, and counterterrorism, raising immediate concerns about who will actually maintain order when riots involving far-left activists break out.
City Hall insiders suggest the mayor could bypass the council and force through the restructuring via executive order, potentially folding the unit’s remnants into his newly created Office of Community Safety.
What the Unit Does.
While left-wing activists have long targeted the SRG, the NYPD relies on the unit as a rapid response force for major emergencies. Beyond securing high-profile events like parades and papal visits, SRG officers are deployed to high-crime neighborhoods and mobilized for shootings, bank robberies, and missing persons cases.
Even Mamdani’s own Police Commissioner, Jessica Tisch, has previously pushed back on the narrative that the let-wing unit targets peaceful demonstrators. During a City Council budget hearing in March, Tisch testified that the SRG only steps in when criminal activity erupts, noting that out of 4,255 protests in 2025, the unit was present at just 245 of them, or roughly six percent.
At the time, Tisch indicated her talks with the mayor were focused on changes to protest policing in general, not scrapping the SRG altogether.
Mamdani’s Motivation.
Mamdani, however, has remained adamant about breaking up the group, arguing that counterterrorism should be entirely divorced from crowd control.
Mamdani defended the move at a September press conference, claiming the unit’s dual mandate of fighting terror and managing protests is unnecessary, while City Hall spokesman Dora Pekec confirmed to POLITICO that the administration intends to permanently split riot response from counterterrorism operations.
Image via NYC Mayor’s Office.
