Share and Follow
On Thursday, New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared his intention to establish an Office of Community Safety (OCS) through an executive order. This initiative is part of his broader strategy to enhance public safety by focusing on support and prevention over traditional policing and punitive measures.
Located within the mayor’s office, the OCS will manage a range of current public safety initiatives. This move is a significant stride towards realizing Mamdani’s ambitious $1.1 billion plan for a Department of Community Safety.
This development follows Mamdani’s commitment to transform the city’s approach to police involvement in non-criminal situations, such as mental health emergencies.
“For far too long, our approach to crime and safety has leaned heavily on the police department, burdening them with the task of addressing the gaps in our social safety net,” Mamdani expressed at a press briefing.
“Crime is undeniably complex, yet our city has historically relied on a fragmented set of solutions to tackle these intertwined challenges,” he added.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Thursday an executive order to form the Office of Community Safety. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images)
“We must instead pursue a whole-of-government model, one where our strategies are centralized and implemented with coordination and at scale, and one which a deputy mayor oversees,” he continued. “This will demand a multifaceted approach to a wide array of challenges across the city.”
Mamdani said the OCS will centralize agencies, including the Office of Crime Victim Services, Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Office to End Domestic and Gender-based Violence, Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes and Office of Community Mental Health.
Mamdani announced that Renita Francois, who served in the Office of Criminal Justice during the de Blasio administration, will serve as deputy mayor for community safety and oversee the initiative.
Mamdani tapped Renita Francois to head the office. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images)
“Renita’s commitment to justice began in her childhood in South Central LA, continued in her early career working in Brooklyn Family Court and has been guided by the many years she has spent trying to transform both the way that government approaches public safety and the outcomes it can deliver,” Mamdani said.
“Our deputy mayor will oversee policy implementation, reform and expansion of B-HEARD to ensure that when New Yorkers are in a mental health crisis, they will actually receive the care that they need and that their only option is not simply a police response.”
The Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD), a pilot program that launched in 2021, consists of a team of health professionals, including paramedics from the New York City Fire Department and mental health professionals from NYC Health + Hospitals that respond to 911 mental health calls.
The B-HEARD program launched in 2021. (iStock)
Mamdani said there are “a number” of calls that come in each day that are deemed eligible for a B-HEARD response, but the city is limited in its capacity.
“[The executive order] imbues our deputy mayor with the policymaking expertise and power to ensure that B-HEARD is actually living up to the spirit of its intention,” he said. “
Our deputy mayor for community safety is not just going to be working within this portfolio. She’s also going to be in every single room where we are making the most critical decisions about the future of this city, ensuring that the lens of community safety is also being applied.”
Speaking on potential issues with the new public safety plan, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said “there will be some mistakes.”
“That happens everywhere. It happens in the police department,” Williams said. “Most of y’all are not saying, ‘Let’s dismantle the police department.’ As we move to this journey, which is the correct journey, and the nation is watching us, let’s work together.
“So, when we get to those bumps in the road, we can pave them out and make them smooth. Because this is about finding a way to allow our police officers to do the job that is best suited for them. Stop asking them to do the job of everyone.”
After the announcement, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch issued a statement saying she is looking forward to working with the team to “ensure New Yorkers get the support they need” while NYPD “officers remain focused on the work they are trained to do.”
“Keeping New Yorkers safe requires more than one approach,” Tisch said. “It means making sure people have access to the resources and services they need, whether that’s career training, an after-school program or a police response.”