Not Zo fast.
New York City emergency responders’ sluggish response times to crimes and emergencies only got worse under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, data in the newly released Mayor’s Management Report (MMR) reveals.
The NYPD’s end-to-end response times for crimes in progress rose to an average of 15 minutes and 21 seconds during the 2026 fiscal year, the report found.
The lethargic overall responses by New York’s Finest came as Mamdani nixed adding 580 cops to the force’s ranks – and despite crime-in-progress calls falling by tens of thousands, the data shows.
FDNY ambulances and fire vehicles take 11 minutes, 55 seconds to reach the scene of a “life-threatening medical emergency.” Christopher Sadowski for NY Post
The NYPD’s time to respond to critical crimes in progress inched up 20 seconds to nine minutes and 38 seconds. William Miller for NY Post
“Response times increased even as the total number of crimes in progress calls decreased slightly in Fiscal 2026, from 297,116 to 291,843, suggesting that the increase was not driven by higher call volume,” the MMR report states.
Emergency response times generally rose for both the NYPD and FDNY over the past five years, according to the data.
The time it took FDNY ambulances and fire vehicles to reach the scene of a “life-threatening medical emergency” jumped by more than a minute and a half during the 2026 fiscal year, the data shows.
The span stood at 10 minutes, 21 seconds during the previous fiscal year. It jumped to 11 minutes, 55 seconds as fiscal year 2026 closed, the report states.
Ambulance response times alone were up nearly two minutes over the 2025 fiscal year – rising from 11 minutes, 21 seconds to 13 minutes, nine seconds.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch speak to the press at 1 Police Plaza in Manhattan, New York, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, about security measures for upcoming Jewish holidays and the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Stephen Yang for NY Post
In a relatively bright spot, the average response time to structural fires stood at roughly 5 minutes – more or less on par with the previous four years, the data shows.
NYPD response times also had a slight silver lining, as the average response time to serious crimes in progress dropped 3% this year to 12 minutes and 35 seconds.
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But other measures were less rosy, with response to critical crimes in progress inching up 20 seconds to nine minutes and 38 seconds.
The mediocre response times came as the report also revealed that police overtime plunged 12%, with the city spending $966 million on overtime for NYPD officers — down from $1.1 billion last year.
An NYPD spokesperson highlighted the department’s success driving down major crime, including a 20% drop in murders. They also focused on the overall number of 911 calls, rather than those for crimes in progress.
“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,” the spokesperson said.