New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has created a new community safety office intended to shift some mental health crisis response away from police. The mayor signed an executive order Thursday to create the office, which he called a first step in fulfilling a campaign pledge. As a candidate, Mamdani proposed a $1 billion-per-year agency that would dispatch civilian workers, instead of police officers, in non-criminal emergencies. The current office will start with only two staff members, but will eventually scale up. On Wednesday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said only a small share of calls could be directed away from the police.
