Committee on Public Safety meeting
June 1, 2026, 10:00 AM
Jointly with the Committee on Finance
The Committee on Public Safety held an FY2027 executive budget hearing on the New York Police Department on June 1, jointly with the Committee on Finance. The hearing is part of the Council's annual review of the mayor's proposed agency budgets before adoption of the fiscal year 2027 budget.
What was discussed
- Opening and swearing in the NYPD panel The Sergeant-at-Arms gaveled in the fifth day of the FY2027 executive budget hearings — a joint session of the Committees on Finance, Public Safety, and Fire and Emergency Management — and Committee Counsel administered the oath to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and her executive staff.
- Opening statements from Chair Lee, Speaker Menin, and Chair Feliz Finance Chair Linda Lee laid out the NYPD's proposed $6.59 billion FY2027 budget — down $110.9 million from the preliminary plan — and renewed the Council's call for added units of appropriation and greater use of asset-forfeiture dollars. Speaker Julie Menin praised record-low shootings and murders
- Commissioner Tisch's testimony on the NYPD FY2027 executive budget Commissioner Jessica Tisch testified that shooting incidents, shooting victims, and homicides are at record lows for the first five months of the year, with major crime down about six percent citywide and ten percent in public housing, and said the executive budget adds 580 police officer positions
- Are hate crimes rising, and how does the NYPD count them? Speaker Julie Menin pressed on a first-quarter jump in hate crimes. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that as of April 30 all hate crimes citywide were down 5.4 percent year over year, and explained that the department reports both 'confirmed' hate crimes and, since March, 'reported' hate crimes
- What is shifting from the NYPD to the new Office of Community Safety? Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Kamillah Hanks asked what programs and funding move to the new Office of Community Safety. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said no programmatic responsibility is being shifted from the NYPD at this time and that the department's work with the consolidated offices —
- Why is NYPD overtime still projected near $1 billion? Speaker Menin, Chair Feliz, and Chair Lee repeatedly pressed on overtime. Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Deputy Commissioner Kristine Ryan said full-year FY26 overtime is projected at $1.013 billion — $91 million below FY25, and roughly $862 million once state-funded transit overtime is excluded —
- Will the state keep funding 5,000 daily hours of subway overtime? Chair Linda Lee asked about state support for subway patrols. Deputy Commissioner Kristine Ryan said the NYPD expects $154 million from the state — half already reflected in the budget — covering roughly 5,000 additional overtime hours a day in the transit system, and that overtime funded this way
- How hard will federal Homeland Security grant cuts hit the NYPD? Chair Linda Lee asked about lost federal funding. Deputy Commissioner Kristine Ryan and Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the Homeland Security Grant Program — the department's largest counterterrorism grant — was cut about 40 percent to roughly $53 million, and that the port security grant was
- Why capitalize the vehicle fleet, and how fast can it be replaced? Chair Linda Lee questioned $103.7 million in vehicle-capitalization savings. Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the state of the fleet 'disgraceful' and said modernizing it is a top request from officers, while Deputy Commissioner Kristine Ryan said the department has already begun placing orders to
- How many mental-health 911 calls actually reach B-HEARD and 988? Chair Linda Lee and Council Member Lincoln Restler pressed on mental-health call diversion. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the NYPD's role ends when a 911 call-taker transfers an eligible call, that only about 1.2 percent of 911 calls are deemed appropriate for B-HEARD, and that the department does
- How will the NYPD staff and secure the World Cup and summer events? Public Safety Chair Oswald Feliz asked about World Cup security. Deputy Commissioner Kristine Ryan projected $35–42 million in overtime for the July 1–7 period alone, Commissioner Jessica Tisch noted FIFA contributed only $14.6 million toward overtime plus $6.5 million for counter-drone equipment
- Has patrol staffing actually grown? Chair Oswald Feliz asked about deployment and patrol strength. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said patrol staffing is up 888 officers versus the same date a year earlier — nearly 1,000 more officers on patrol — with more arriving as last year's large recruit classes complete 18 months of training.
- Which units still lack diversity under the NYPD's racial equity plan? Council Member Nantasha M. Williams asked about the racial equity plan's leadership and specialized-unit goals, and about district-level Q-team and Community Affairs resources. Deputy Commissioner Alex Crohn described the roughly 100-day hiring-review panel, and Commissioner Jessica Tisch credited
- What evidence links low-level arrests to public safety? Council Member Tiffany L. Cabán challenged quality-of-life enforcement. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the NYPD is not seeking to increase low-level arrests and has no interest in returning to broken-windows policing, framing the Quality of Life Division as a response to a surge in 311 complaints
- Can unregistered dirt bikes and ATVs be ridden on city streets? Council Member Phil Wong raised dirt bikes and ATVs in his district. Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber and Chief Michael LiPetri confirmed that ATVs and unregistered dirt bikes cannot legally operate on New York City streets.
- Are youth arrests rising, and are school scanners working? Council Member Rita C. Joseph asked about youth arrests, school collaboration, and broken metal detectors. Deputy Commissioner Alex Crohn said arrests in schools are down about 4.8 percent, First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella said 65 percent of school incidents are now handled by the DOE and
- What is being done about Southeast Queens gun violence and the jail population? Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers asked about a surge in gun violence, social-media-driven crime, and the Rikers population. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said low-level arrests do not drive the Rikers population because people are jailed there for felonies, and Chief Michael LiPetri described
- Is retail theft actually going down? Council Members Gale A. Brewer and Simcha Felder raised retail theft. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the numbers are dropping sharply, and Chief Michael LiPetri reported a 19 percent citywide reduction this year, led by Staten Island at 41 percent.
- Can the NYPD consolidate its property-clerk warehouses? Council Member Gale A. Brewer asked whether the NYPD could consolidate warehouse space to save money. Deputy Commissioner Kristine Ryan said the department is actively working with DCAS to consolidate warehouses, including the Queens facility Brewer cited, but that a fully consolidated property
- What will it take to build a new precinct in East New York? Council Member Chris Banks pressed for more resources in the 75th Precinct and a potential new precinct. Chief Michael LiPetri said the 75 already receives among the most resources in Brooklyn North, and Deputy Commissioner Kristine Ryan said the most recent new precinct cost $108 million and no
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1893 NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL FISCAL YEAR 2027 EXECUTIVE BUDGET HEARINGS 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. New York Police Department Jointly with the Committee on Public Safety Hearing Held by Committee