NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has appointed my Brooklyn College colleague Alex Vitali to his advisory committee on public safety. The author of The End of Policing, the right-of-center press has seized on his consistent position of “abolish the police.” As someone who extensively helped edit his manuscript, I feel that I can make some judgments on his views, how they have evolved, and what his position on the advisory committee may foretell. I fear that Alex and the anti-police crowd will fight for policies that will try to force Tisch to resign. I was sympathetic to his project because Alex decisively identified structural problems with policing: its inadequate ability to deal with homelessness, mental illness, drug addiction, and domestic violence. In all of these cases, social workers have the skills to better navigate conflicts that arise than police officers acting alone. And police are not in the best position to take preemptive positions to forestall street violence; community violence-disruptor organizations are ideally better suited. Unfortunately (from my perspective) since publishing the book in 2017, Alex no longer believes that there are simply these structural issues that weaken the ability of the police to be effective. He increasingly has become more focused on what he believes is the inherent evil of policing: its need to suppress a rebellious underclass, creating unwarranted adversarial approaches to police departments. The 30 percent increase in urban homicides in 2020 was not uniform. I identified three cities — Newark, St. Petersburg, and St. Paul — that had only a minimal increase, especially compared to their neighboring cities — NYC, Tampa, and Minneapolis, respectively. In all three successful cities, the police commissioner had personal ties to the black community and was willing to use non-police personnel in tandem with police. I spoke with Aqeela Sherrills, who led the Newark Community Street Team — a group that aims to curb violence by sending social workers and ex-offenders into struggling neighborhoods. The organization was housed on police property and had a positive relationship with Newark police. Alex, however, rejects coordination and instead stresses the ability of social workers and violence-disruptors to operate independently of the police. This seems to dovetail with Mamdani; why he only envisions social workers assigned to the homeless but not to domestic violence situations. Vitali and others cite studies that seem to demonstrate that social workers and violence-disruptors acting independently can be effective. The problem is that in almost all cases cited, the social workers are not available in evenings when the more serious cases arise; and the violence-disruptor studies have uneven findings as the ex-offenders employed are often problematic, especially when able to act independent of police departments. Clearly, tensions would be created if policing is not coordinated with all social worker and violence-disruptor NYC activities. Will Police Commissioner Tisch insist on coordination? There are other tensions that Alex might accentuate. One is the continued use of the gang data base, a listing of individuals who have ties to street gangs. Alex has consistently attacked its use, particularly for its inappropriate inclusion of some individuals with no gang affiliation, generating unjustifiable stops and harassments. Another flashpoint is the way complaints against individual policing actions are adjudicated. These complaints alleging police misbehavior are heard by a Civilian Review Board that then makes recommendations to the police commissioner.  Critics believe the commissioner is too lenient, watering down the recommendations where many violators are just given a slap on the wrist. These critics would like to see the Review Board have final say over punishment for police misconduct. Finally, there are so-called quality of life crimes, including illegal vending, substance use, abandoned vehicles, illegal mopeds, and reckless driving. In April 2025, the police department initiated a new policy focused on these issues. “Thanks to the incredible work of the women and men in blue, we’ve seen historic declines in major crimes across the city,” Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “Now, we’re turning our attention toward the issues that New Yorkers see and feel every day — the things that don’t always make headlines but deeply impact how people live. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe.”  Critics like Alex have long been against these policies and will they demand that Tisch reverse her stance on them? I fear that Alex and the anti-police crowd will fight for policies that will try to force Tisch to resign. It will then be up to Mamdani to decide which side he is on.  It would be a shame if this tension is unresolved because Newark really does show the way: coordination with the police when using non-police personnel. Let’s hope that this is what Mamdani chooses. READ MORE from Robert Cherry: The Gaza Famine Myth: Refuting NYT’s Kristof’s Libelous Claims False Claims Made by Globalist Anti-Israel Forces The Hypocrisy of Zohran Mamdani’s Liberal Apologists Robert Cherry is an American Enterprise affiliate and author of the forthcoming book, Arab Citizens of Israel: How Far Have They Come? (Wicked Son Press, January 2026).