By Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — Amid debate in the mayoral election over NYPD staffing levels, Mayor Adams Friday announced a plan to significantly increase the department’s headcount, potentially leaving his successor with upwards of 40,000 police officers by 2029, officials said on Friday.
Under Adams’ plan, announced on Friday, the city would invest millions in the coming years to hire and train more than 5,000 new officers. The increase in manpower will bring the department up to 40,000 cops, the highest level in 20 years, Adams said.
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The additional cops would be hitting the streets long after next week’s mayoral election, where Democratic Socialist Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is leading a three-man race that includes former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Adams has secured $17.8 million this fiscal year so the NYPD can hire more cops, officials said. According to his proposal, number will increase to $318.5 million by fiscal year 2029 to support additional hiring.
Adams can add money to he NYPD’s current fiscal budget, but any plan to bulk up the department’s headcount in the future could immediately be quashed by whoever leads the next administration, officials admit. Neither the next mayor nor the City Council has to abide by this plan.
“If the next mayor wants to remove that funding, yes, he has that ability,” mayoral spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said. “We are doing everything we can to ensure New York City is in a good place and heading in the right direction come 2026.”
During the campaign, Mamdani has said, if elected, he would keep NYPD staffing levels flat and launch a new city agency that would handle mental health calls that cops currently address as part of their responsibilities.
On Friday, while doing Tai Chi with older adults at a campaign stop on the Lower East Side, Mamdani said Adams’ proposal was a political ploy and that the outgoing mayor was “far more” interested in the “theater of the politics around this race.”
“I have said time and again that I believe we have the right number of police officers,” Mamdani said. “We have budgeted about 35,000 head count in the NYPD. Eric Adams cannot actually hire enough officers that he actually has the money to do so. And so then now to say that instead of being able to hit his previous mark of 35,000 he’s going to now try and hit 40,000.”
Mamdani said New Yorkers aren’t concerned with NYPD headcount.
“It’s a question of safety, and that’s exactly what I’m going to deliver,” he said.
Cuomo praised Adams’ plan.
“It’s past time to reverse the damage done by Zohran Mamdani and his colleagues who demanded the City defund the police,” he said in a statement. “Mayor Adams is exactly right — 5,000 additional officers will bring us back to full force, and as Mayor, I will see to it that this plan becomes a reality.”
Upon announcing his proposal, Adams said that he’s always believed “public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity.”
“Over the last four years — as we’ve driven crime down to record lows — we’ve proven that the price for our safety is well worth it,” he said, adding that “the vast majority of New Yorkers want more police officers on their streets and in their subways.”
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a long supporter of increasing the NYPD’s headcount, applauded the measure.
“Every new officer means safer streets, stronger communities, and a thriving city,” Tisch said. “This commitment allows us to keep recruiting, training, and deploying the next generation of women and men to build on our success.”
In August, nearly 1,100 recruits were sworn in at the Police Academy, which Tisch said was the largest class the department has seen “in nearly a decade.”
Those recruits are expected to graduate the academy early next year.
The new class comes after the NYPD earlier this year reduced the number of college credits required to join the force from 60 to 24.
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