Mayor Zohran Mamdani insisted Thursday that he remains close with a socialist ally who wants his police commissioner gone — pushing back on reports that City Hall was furious with congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier over her calls for Jessica Tisch’s removal.
“The reports are completely false,” Mamdani told reporters after an affordable housing event in East New York. “Darializa is not only a close friend but also is an ally, and she will be an incredible champion for this city in Congress.”
His remarks came hours after Chevalier, whom Mamdani endorsed in her successful Democratic primary campaign for New York’s 13th Congressional District, said the two had laughed together about a New York Post report claiming City Hall officials were privately angered by her criticism of Tisch.
“When the mayor and I spoke about the article after it came out, we were cracking jokes about the ridiculousness of the article itself,” Chevalier said during an appearance on WNYC’s “Who’s Running This Place?”
The Post reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, that administration officials were angered by Chevalier’s calls for Tisch’s removal following last week’s ICE shooting in Marble Hill and the NYPD’s response to protests that followed.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 13th Congressional District, faces off with NYPD officers alongside protesters in Marble Hill on Thursday night following the ICE shooting. Photo by Dean Moses
Per the report, one source described her criticism as a “direct undermining of Mamdani,” while another said City Hall staffers were upset about her public statements concerning the department.
Chevalier rejected the suggestion of a falling-out, telling WNYC host Brigid Bergin that she and the mayor remain in regular contact.
“The mayor and I have a strong relationship,” she said. “We do check in. We talk.”
Mamdani stands by Tisch; Chevalier and DSA do not
The two remain publicly at odds, however, over Tisch’s future following the Oct. 8 shooting of Oscar Belgal by federal immigration agents in Marble Hill.
Chevalier, who joined demonstrators that night, accused NYPD officers of escalating tensions with protesters and said an officer shoved her to the ground as she attempted to calm the situation.
She also criticized Tisch for discussing Belgal’s criminal history during a news conference following the shooting, arguing that the commissioner had sought to justify the actions of federal agents rather than condemn them.
“The NYPD’s Strategic Response Group must be disbanded as quickly as possible, and Commissioner Tisch must step down,” Chevalier wrote in a statement the day after the shooting.
The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the political organization that helped propel Mamdani into City Hall, also criticized Tisch and the NYPD’s handling of the protests.
In an Oct. 9 statement, NYC-DSA accused the department of protecting federal immigration agents and mistreating demonstrators, including Chevalier. “If the Commissioner cannot put a stop to these injustices, she must be fired,” the organization said, calling on Tisch to end what it described as NYPD complicity with ICE.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch at the NYPD Memorial Wall. The Mayor says he has no plans to fire Tisch.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Mamdani, however, has made clear he has no plans to remove Tisch.
“Jessica Tisch is the police commissioner. I have no plans to change that,” the mayor told reporters Tuesday, defending her record of addressing corruption within the NYPD and pointing to declining murders and shootings during their time working together.
Asked again on Wednesday how long he planned to keep Tisch as police commissioner, Mamdani said no member of his administration was on a “time clock.”
Separately, the NYPD also defended Tisch’s decision to disclose Belgal’s criminal history, saying it was standard practice during incident briefings.
“The Police Commissioner was giving a factual update on the incident and we always provide criminal history in incident updates if we have it,” an NYPD spokesperson said. “It’s also one of the first questions that every media outlet asks the NYPD.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, meanwhile, praised Mamdani for standing by Tisch, calling it a “smart decision” despite the pressure from his socialist allies.
“I support his decision to confirm that she should remain,” Hochul told reporters in Jackson Heights on Thursday. Pointing to declining crime, she added: “The mayor knows that. I applaud him for recognizing that. And case closed on that one.”
Political differences, personal ties
Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared on May 28 with NY-13 congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier on MS NOW’s “The Briefing with Jen Psaki,” where he endorsed the DSA-backed challenger to Rep. Adriano Espaillat.MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Despite their disagreement over Tisch, Chevalier reiterated Thursday that she believes the mayor shares many of her goals on policing, including strengthening NYPD accountability and disbanding the department’s Strategic Response Group.
“I think there is so much more that we actually align with that he has shown a commitment to moving forward on,” she told WNYC.
But she did not retreat from her demand that Tisch resign, even after Bergin played Mamdani’s comments ruling out plans to replace the commissioner.
“I made it very clear that I think it is on Jessica Tisch to step down,” Chevalier said. “I think she is the one who did not meet the moment, and I think that it is important that we have meaningful accountability.”
Asked Thursday whether he had spoken with Chevalier since the Post article was published and what they discussed, Mamdani did not directly answer, instead reaffirming his friendship with the congressional candidate and expressing confidence in her political future.
He said he looked forward to working with Chevalier and other Democrats expected to join Congress, including Claire Valdez and Brad Lander, to advance his administration’s affordability agenda.
“With partnership from her, from Claire Valdez, from Brad Lander, from others who’ll be joining in Congress, we’re very excited to see what they can deliver for the city,” Mamdani said.