Mamdani softens hard line on role of NYPD watchdog in discipline after Tisch agrees to stay on

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is softening his stance on how much power the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board should have.

While still a candidate, Mamdani said he would as mayor empower the board — which investigates and prosecutes misconduct complaints against NYPD officers — to get the final say on what sort of disciplinary action should be taken against cops found guilty of wrongdoing. Under the current system, the board offers recommendations to the NYPD commissioner, who then gets to decide what punishment to mete out.

“What I would do is ensure that the recommendations of the CCRB be understood to be the final voice of the question of accountability,” Mamdani said in early October.

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But in the wake of announcing Wednesday that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch will stay in her post under his administration, Mamdani is taking a step back from that position. “What I believe is that the CCRB’s recommendations should be taken seriously, that we should ensure they’re able to make those recommendations time and again,” Mamdani said Thursday when asked by the Daily News if he still plans to expand the CCRB’s authority once he’s sworn in as mayor Jan. 1.

Despite having just weeks ago pledged to push for giving the board more powers, the democratic socialist mayor-elect said his main focus is now to secure more funding for the CCRB to ensure it doesn’t have to drop disciplinary cases