Mayor Zohran Mamdani is urging New Yorkers to demonstrate against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the Big Apple — a call that has angered members of the NYPD.
The backlash comes after New York’s Finest logged an exhausting stretch of high-security assignments across the five boroughs, including the FIFA World Cup, the Knicks’ NBA title celebrations, Independence Day and a sprawling America 250 event that drew millions into the city. Now, officers are bracing for another tense deployment as the left-leaning mayor encourages public protest.
“The mayor’s activist posturing puts police officers on the street in a terrible position,” NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said. “Protests during the UN General Assembly are nothing new, but when the mayor of the city is actively calling for demonstrations, violent agitators will assume they have permission to cause as much havoc as possible.
“Those same agitators know that the NYPD’s protest response is already hamstrung by the dangerous lawsuit settlement the city signed over the PBA’s opposition,” Hendry said. “The mayor’s heated rhetoric could be enough to push demonstrations over the edge into chaos.”
Mamdani has focused sharply on Netanyahu since his campaign last year, at one point pledging to have the Israeli leader arrested if he entered New York City, citing a 2024 International Criminal Court warrant tied to alleged war crimes in Gaza.
This week, however, the mayor acknowledged he lacked the authority to carry out such an arrest. Instead, he called on New Yorkers to make their opposition known through protest — a move likely to add pressure on NYPD officers already preparing for heightened security demands.
“This is a city where, if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect,” he told reporters at City Hall this week. “That New Yorkers can express themselves, whether they are in support or in opposition, no matter on whatever topic.
“And I’ve always said that when we respect our Constitution, we also respect our First Amendment.”
New York’s Finest already went above and beyond to handle the unprecedented tourist rush this summer, and were put on 12-hour shifts to handle the extra duty — which they pulled off flawlessly.
Now, their own mayor is adding to the workload.
“Was he serious?” one incredulous Manhattan cop asked.
“Cops just came off a crazy six weeks between the Knicks and the World Cup working long hours every day, and now he’s going to subject them to unnecessary problems,” the cop said.
One Brooklyn cop called Mamdani “nothing more than a cheap politician looking for cheap headlines” who knew — or at least should have known — that he “didn’t have the power” to arrest the prime minister.
Another department veteran added, “When will he realize that he is not an activist anymore?
“He should be governing the city and trying to keep the peace, instead of inciting a riot with his rhetoric,” he said. “He is basically telling the crazy people to do what they want, and there will be no repercussions. If a cop gets hurt, it will be on him, but that is the least of his worries.”
Yet, despite the added burden, police union officials said the NYPD will be ready as always when the UN General Assembly kicks off in September.
“Mayor Mamdani still acts like he’s leading a protest movement instead of running the largest city in America,” said Scott Munro, president of the NYPD Detectives Endowment Association.
“If Mayor Mamdani wants a reminder of how important the First Amendment is, perhaps New York’s law enforcement unions should organize a lawful demonstration outside Gracie Mansion and let him experience firsthand the consequences of encouraging mass protests without guardrails,” he added.
Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
