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MAMDANI'S BUDGET ULTIMATUM

Mayor scraps plan to hire 5,000 police officers

NYPD funding cut draws criticism from police leaders as City Hall pivots toward civilian crisis response

BY CARTER MYERS-BROWN
Posted 2/27/26

Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to shred a plan to hire 5,000 additional police officers in the upcoming fiscal year, instead proposing to cut $22 million from the NYPD’s budget. The move, scrapping a hiring plan created by Mayor Eric Adams’ in October 2025, has drawn criticism from the New York City Police Benevolent Association, whose president, Patrick Hendry, wants the NYPD headcount to return to pre-9/11 numbers of more than 40,000.

Hendry, however, said the department is already struggling with severe attrition.

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