By Josephine Stratman
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — The city’s dismal response times to crimes and emergencies — a troubling metric the city has struggled with for years — are now slower than last year, according to a Mayor’s Management Report released Thursday.
FDNY response times for ambulances and fire companies responding to “life-threatening medical emergencies” rose to nine minutes and 13 seconds — up one minute and 28 seconds from last year.
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For crimes in progress, the NYPD’s end-to-end response times grew by nearly 30 seconds to an average of 15 minutes and 21 seconds. Response time to critical crimes in progress increased to nine minutes and 38 seconds, up from nine minutes 18 seconds a year ago.
The NYPD confirmed the response times, but said cops responded to 20,000 additional calls for fiscal year 2026 — the time the report evaluated.
“While there was a slight increase of 28 seconds in average response time to all crimes in progress, there were nearly 20,000 more 911 calls over this time period, a total of 7.5 million calls,” an NYPD spokeswoman said, adding that “over Fiscal Year 2026, the NYPD continued to drive down major crime, including a 20% decline in murders, a 9% decline in burglaries and robberies, and a 7% drop in auto thefts, while delivering a 16% drop in shootings.”
While some response times increased, the end-to-end average response time to serious crimes in progress decreased by 3% to 12 minutes and 35 seconds, down by one minute and 35 seconds, NYPD officials said.
The Mayor’s Management Report, a yearly data-dense summary of city agency activities, is seen as the mayor’s first “report card” — although the reporting period began last July and covers the last six months of the Adams administration and the first six months of Mamdani’s mayoralty.
In order to improve emergency response times, the administration is looking to expand the city’s mental health crisis response program, called the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division, or B-HEARD, the report said, as well as add Paramedic Response Units, which are non-transport emergency response vehicles.
But, at least for now, the city has actually seen a decrease in B-HEARD responses to crises, with 8,524 eligible calls responded to by the unit, compared to 10,635 last year. The program has grown to include 31 police precincts across swathes of the Bronx , Queens and Brooklyn . B-HEARD is part of the mayor’s focus on shifting emergency mental health response from the police department. Mamdani started his new Office of Community Safety to that end.
The administration announced the release of the report in a press release, touting housing-related numbers that show affordable housing completions rose 20% to 26,971, the most in any of the last five years, and that the city financed 4,742 affordable homes for formerly homeless New Yorkers, including 2,546 supportive housing units.
“This administration came into office with a promise to make New York City more affordable, make our streets and communities safer, and make government work for working people,” Mamdani said in a statement. “This year’s Mayor’s Management Report shows what happens when City Hall puts those priorities into action.”
“We are building faith in government and lowering costs one day at a time,” he said. “Every number in this report represents a New Yorker we have a responsibility to serve. Our job is to serve them better and better every day.”
The mayor also celebrated that pothole repairs rose 27% from last year, to a total of 229,000. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has espoused “pothole politics,” as he tries to prove left-wing politicians can deliver tangible results. The city also planted 61% more trees than last year, for a total of 55,979.
But as the mayor has sought to expand the availability of 3-K, the number of students enrolled in the program actually shrunk last school year: Total 3-K enrollment decreased from 44,729 in 2024-25 to 43,678 in the last school year, the report showed.
The number of paid-for — but unused — seats in 3-K classrooms ticked up by 144. Again, the city notes the report covers six months under former Mayor Adams, who Mamdani has accused of not doing enough to promote the program.
Pre-K enrollment also decreased, though the number of unfilled seats fell as well. That’s because Pre-K sites that had been severely under-enrolled were converted to seats for younger children.
With Cayla Bamberger
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