On Tuesday evening, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch sat down for dinner with Sid Rosenberg, a right-wing radio host known for his contentious statements. Rosenberg shared details of their meeting during his radio show the following day.
Rosenberg is no stranger to controversy, having previously labeled Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, as a “terrorist” and claimed that Mamdani would support another 9/11. These remarks have been denounced by Mamdani as “racist,” underscoring the tension that sometimes exists between the mayor and the police commissioner, who hold differing views on public safety.
During his Wednesday broadcast of Sid & Friends in the Morning on WABC, Rosenberg expressed his enjoyment of the dinner with Tisch, describing it as a “wonderful, great time.” The pair reportedly delved into various topics while enjoying meals of pasta and chicken parmigiana.
Among the subjects discussed were Tisch’s passion for the city and Council Speaker Julie Menin, whom Rosenberg is set to meet with next week. Menin’s spokesperson did not respond to any inquiries for comment on the impending meeting.
The dinner took place at Nicola’s, an Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side, at 6 p.m. Accompanying Tisch and Rosenberg were Tisch’s top spokesperson Delaney Kempner and two other individuals, whom Rosenberg chose not to name on-air.
Tisch, Rosenberg and Tisch’s top spokesperson Delaney Kempner and two others met at 6 p.m. at Nicola’s, an Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side, Rosenberg said. The group was joined by two others, but Rosenberg refused to identify them on the air.
Rosenberg said the meeting was initiated by Tisch but boasted that the two are “very close” and text weekly. He also claimed that Tisch usually likes to sit in the front of the restaurant, but “for some reason tonight she wants to sit in the back.”
Mamdani brushed off the meeting when asked by the Daily News about it on Wednesday.
“I can tell you that of all the questions that I ask my police commissioner, who she had dinner with the night before is not one of them,” the mayor said at an unrelated press conference at the Whitney Museum.
The mayor and Tisch have different stances on several public safety issues, including keeping police headcount flat, abolishing the department’s controversial Strategic Response Group and eliminating the NYPD’s gang database. Tisch opposes all of those changes, which Mamdani, a democratic socialist who’s come under fire for his previous “defund the police” stances, promised on the campaign trail.
Mamdani was applauded by many for keeping Tisch, who has been credited with drops in crime and a general sense of greater stability in the department.
But the mayor has also faced some backlash from the left flank for his choice, and it’s unclear how much leeway Mamdani will continue to give Tisch to run the department as she pleases.
“If you took the under six months, you’re gonna lose it,” Rosenberg said. “…She ain’t leaving. She’s not. He’s not gonna make her leave, because it would be a PR nightmare.”
