Mayor Eric Adams has named Jessica Tisch, current sanitation commissioner, the new head of the NYPD.
Interim commissioner Tom Donlon is stepping aside to pave the way for Tisch to helm the largest police force in the nation. She has past experience as a crime strategy expert with the NYPD, spending 12 of her 17 years with the city in that department.
Former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban resigned in September amid a federal investigation into the department’s nightclub enforcement.
“The people of this city have been clear that they agree with what our administration has been fighting for since day one in office: a safer city where they don’t need to worry about walking down the street or taking the subway at night,” Mayor Eric Adams said in announcing the appointment Wednesday. “To ensure New Yorkers have the ability to thrive in our city, we need a strong, battle-tested leader who will continue to drive down crime and ensure New Yorkers are safe and feel safe, and I cannot think of a leader more up to the task than Commissioner Jessica Tisch.”
A lifelong New Yorker, Tisch was appointed DSNY commissioner in April 2022, managing the city’s waste collection, recycling, and disposal, as well as cleaning and snow removal for approximately 6,500 miles of city streets. Under her leadership, New York City has seen a generational change in sanitation service, including the launch of the “Trash Revolution,” which, to date, has placed 70 percent of trash in New York City under container mandate, as well as the rollout of weekly universal curbside composting service to all 3.5 million residences in New York City.
Previously, Tisch served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and citywide chief information officer from December 2019 to January 2022. As commissioner, she ran the largest municipal IT organization in the country, with a wide portfolio ranging from public safety to human services to economic development as well as New York City 311.
She also rolled out the city’s first text-to-911 capability. While at DoITT, Tisch additionally served as a core member of the team that managed the city’s COVID-19 pandemic response — building and managing critical programs that tangibly served New Yorkers, including the city’s vaccination system.
Prior to joining DoITT, Tisch spent the majority of her career at the NYPD, where she served as deputy commissioner of information technology and oversaw the department’s 911 operations. She spearheaded efforts to use technology to transform the NYPD’s fundamental business processes, including how officers are dispatched and respond to 911 calls, take crime reports, investigate, and search for wanted or missing persons.
“For 12 years, I cherished the special privilege of serving alongside the brave women and men of the New York City Police Department. I’ve seen firsthand the profound nobility of the policing profession, and I was proud to work shoulder-to-shoulder with both uniform members and civilians to propel the NYPD into the next century of technological advancement,” Tisch said in a statement. “I thank Mayor Adams for the tremendous honor to now lead the NYPD, and I understand the solemnity of this great responsibility. It is now my distinct honor to advance Mayor Adams’ vision of fighting crime and disorder; keeping our great city safe and vibrant; protecting all New Yorkers, including our officers who put their lives on the line every day, so they can live free of fear; continuing to build the most nimble municipal counterterrorism apparatus in the world; and implementing the most forward-thinking law enforcement training and technology. We will do all of this with integrity as we continue to build public confidence and trust in the police.”
