What a cop out.<\/p>\n
A seemingly red-faced Mayor Zohran Mamdani blamed a \u201cmiscommunication\u201d Tuesday after an awkward public clash between City Hall and NYPD officials over whether the department would provide security for his wife Rama Duwaji\u2019s upcoming Middle East trip.<\/a><\/p>\n The high-profile back-and-forth<\/a> appeared to end when Hizzoner asserted that Duwaji would not receive a taxpayer-funded police escort on her jaunt to Syria and Lebanon next month \u2014 despite his own senior spokesperson claiming she would the day prior.<\/p>\n Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared to blame a \u201cmiscommunication\u201d mistake on his City Hall staff, adding that his wife Rama Duwaji \u201chas not yet taken that trip and when she takes that trip it will be without any NYPD detail.\u201d James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a miscommunication. She has not yet taken that trip and when she takes that trip it will be without any NYPD detail,\u201d Mamdani told PIX11, when asked about The Post\u2019s Monday report<\/p>\n A source familiar with the security detail said the first lady, whom the mayor has described as a \u201cprivate person,\u201d requested the escort, and Mamdani\u2019s office had confirmed she would be accompanied by city cops.<\/p>\n \u201cUpon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the first lady\u2019s security detail will be joining her when she travels to visit family in Syria and Lebanon,\u201d Mamdani\u2019s spokeswoman Dora Pekec said.<\/p>\n But City Hall\u2019s assertion drew a stunning response from the NYPD Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work,\u201d a department spokesperson insisted.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not an investigative trip, and therefore, NYPD personnel will not be traveling there for it.\u201d<\/p>\n The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work,\u201d a NYPD spokesperson said in response to the matter. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n The statement not only undercut Pekec\u2019s assertion, but effectively amounted to NYPD officials publicly breaking with their boss: Mamdani.<\/p>\n One source familiar with the mishap said simply, \u201cThey never checked with the commissioner.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about the disparity, Pekec directed The Post toward Mamdani\u2019s remarks attributing the matter to a \u201cmiscommunication\u201d to PIX11 during an event later Tuesday that was closed to other press.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office offered no further comment on the Sept. 20 trip\u2019s details or whether the purpose was solely to visit family.<\/p>\n The source with knowledge of the trip told The Post, \u201cIt\u2019s not official business. It\u2019s not doing anything for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Both countries are on the US State Department\u2019s \u201cDo Not Travel\u201d list due to security concerns.<\/p>\n Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, accompanied by his wife, Rama Duwaji, casts his ballot on Election Day at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School on Nov. 4, 2025, in Queens, N.Y. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n The prospect of sending NYPD cops to countries on the \u201cDo Not Travel\u201d list struck former police commissioner Bill Bratton as \u201cill-advised.\u201d<\/p>\n Such an assignment, he said, would be \u201cexpensive\u201d and require significant assistance and cooperation from the federal government.<\/p>\n \u201cThere would be lots of hoops you\u2019d have to go through for that kind of assignment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bratton said the disagreement between Mamdani\u2019s office and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch\u2019s NYPD should have never happened, especially over an issue as sensitive as the first lady\u2019s travel.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to have to clear up the confusion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mamdani has continued to insist that Duwaji is a private person. Paul Martinka for NY Post<\/p>\n Mamdani has to tighten up his communication protocols with the NYPD, said David Catalfamo, who served as communications director for former Gov. George Pataki.<\/p>\n He said there\u2019s a \u201cdeference\u201d to law enforcement on security measures.<\/p>\n \u201cI suspect communication between the mayor\u2019s office and the police department will be better in the future,\u201d Catalfamo said. \u201cThe political folks want to run ahead of the story. It doesn\u2019t work that way when it comes to security.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NYPD wants to be there to protect the mayor and his family \u2014 but there are limits. Going to Syria and Lebanon is not like buying a ticket on Amtrak.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office offered no further comment on the Sept. 20 trip\u2019s details or whether the purpose was solely to visit family. Instagram \/ @ramaduwaji<\/p>\n Duwaji, a 29-year-old Syrian-American artist<\/a>, traveled overseas just last month without police protection.<\/p>\n She\u00a0co-hosted<\/a>\u00a0in July a pro-Palestinian all-female spiritual retreat on the French island of Corsica, and was also the\u00a0\u201cartist-in-residence\u201d at a sold-out \u201cPlants Of The Quran\u201d workshop\u00a0on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Both were organized by the\u00a0Women Sanctuary, a Muslim-and-women-focused travel group run by Parisian designer Rym Nur.<\/p>\n The embarrassing snafu over her next trip abroad also showcased NYPD officials\u2019 willingness to publicly buck the mayor, at least when confronted by an apparent error.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s not-quite mea culpa came amid simmering tensions with Tisch, a pro-Israel moderate who hasn\u2019t been shy about her differences with the Israel critic mayor.<\/p>\n Mamdani and Tisch have had their fair share of disagreements since he took over in January. Erik Pendzich\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Tisch entered Mamdani\u2019s administration by frankly acknowledging her differences with the upstart socialist over Israel and many public safety issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Within days of Mamdani taking office, Tisch angrily stormed into City Hall <\/a>to read the riot act over his tardy response to back-to-back police shootings.<\/p>\n And she regularly broke with Mamdani in the following months, such as when the mayor brushed off a crowd pummeling two cops with snow as a \u201csnowball fight that got out of hand<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n