The NYPD is pushing back on City Hall’s assertion that officers were expected to travel with Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, as part of a security detail for her planned trip to the Middle East.
“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work,” a department spokesperson said early Tuesday, directly contradicting the mayor’s office’s earlier characterization.
Duwaji, 29, is scheduled to visit Lebanon and Syria beginning Sept. 20. Both countries are currently under the U.S. State Department’s highest warning level, with Americans advised: “Do Not Travel.”
“It’s not official business. It’s not doing anything for the city,” a source familiar with the trip told The Post.
According to a source with knowledge of the security arrangements, Duwaji — whom Mamdani has previously described as a “private person” — asked for NYPD protection after taking another international trip last month without a police detail.
City Hall had initially suggested that NYPD officers accompanying Duwaji on the family visit was effectively settled.
“Upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the First Lady’s security detail will be joining her when she travels to visit family in Syria and Lebanon,” mayoral spokesperson Dora Pekec said.
The police department, however, swiftly rejected that account, making clear it had not approved sending personnel on the trip.
“This is not an investigative trip, and therefore, NYPD personnel will not be traveling there for it.”
The Post has reached out to the mayor’s office for clarification on the apparent discrepancy, but did not immediately hear back.
Duwaji’s voyage overlaps with the 81st United Nations General Assembly, during which NYPD resources will be stretched — exacerbated after Hizzoner urged New Yorkers to take to the streets to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the annual gathering of world leaders.
