Adams names sanitation boss Jessica Tisch permanent NYPD commissioner
Sanitation boss Jessica Tisch was named Wednesday as the NYPD’s next commissioner — and sources tell The Post they expect her to clean house.
Tisch, a longtime public servant and 12-year civilian NYPD veteran, will start in her new job Monday, Mayor Eric Adams announced from City Hall.
“We need a strong, battle-tested leader who will continue to drive down crime and ensure New Yorkers are safe and feel safe,” he said. “I need someone that is going to take the police department into the next century.”
The surprise appointment – made during a news conference focused on restoring budget cuts – will end months of uncertainty atop the NYPD after the last permanent commissioner, Edward Caban, resigned shortly following a raid by federal agents on his home in September.
Adams picked Tom Donlon, a former FBI official, to serve as interim commissioner and create stability for the NYPD following Caban’s Sept. 12 resignation.
Tisch, 43, the city’s sanitation commissioner, later emerged as the frontrunner to take over the job permanently, The Post reported last month. She will be the NYPD’s second female commissioner and fourth top cop in Adams’ first term.
“The mission is to keep you safe, to make you feel safe and to improve your quality of life,” she told New Yorkers after Adams announced her appointment. “To restore dignity and order to every street, every neighborhood, every borough in the City of New York. Not just policing of, but policing for.”
Donlon will stay on at City Hall as senior adviser for public safety – a role previously held by embattled Adams pal Tim Pearson – after Tisch is sworn in next week, sources said.
The Tisch commish pick quickly drew praise from many police and city officials concerned about the impact of Adams’ scandals – including his historic federal indictment – on City Hall, the NYPD and Hizzoner himself.
One high-ranking police source told The Post that Tisch’s appointment is likely to make a cadre of top cops close to Adams, such as Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and Chief of Staff Tarik Sheppard, unhappy.
“All of these guys are the mayor’s boys, she can’t get rid of all of them,” the source said. “But she’s not going to sit there like a wallflower. She’s going to want to clean house.”
One Brooklyn cop was more blunt: “The only good thing is she will put an end to the fraternity house that was running the department. She won’t put up with all their crap.”
Tisch has long sought to serve as the city’s top cop and hasn’t been quiet about her ambitions, telling a number of government officials she wanted the job, sources have told The Post.
She held several civilian positions in the NYPD, including commissioner for its information technology and telecommunication department under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
During Tisch’s tech tenure, she launched the NYPD’s body-worn camera and tablet programs. She also oversaw a $160 million smartphone program that had an inauspicious start as the Microsoft-based phones originally given to cops had to be scrapped after two years.
“Great manager, accomplished leader, and someone who really understands what needs to be done,” one source said. “Very well-connected, will likely bring back some retired people to join her staff. She has a great relationship with the existing executive team.”
As sanitation commissioner, a role she has held since April 2022, Tisch took a leading role in Adams’ anti-rat crusade and rolled out — literally — New York City’s first official trash bin for homeowners.
Her mother is Merryl Tisch, the former chancellor of New York State Board of Regents and a charter school advocate. James Tisch, her father, is CEO of Loews Corporation.
The Harvard grad’s many previous jobs included a stint as a New York Post intern.
Her ascension atop the NYPD could also be a sign that Adams – who was urged by Gov. Kathy Hochul to clear out a rogues’ gallery of high-level staffers raided by the feds – is feeling less pressure from his high-profile legal woes, insiders said.
“The mayor thinks he will be OK as far as the criminal accusations,” a City Hall source told The Post.
“This move shows that he’s in it for the long haul. Tisch will get things done. She’s also very well-connected to the New York rich, which he needs to run for re-election.”
City lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appeared pleased with the appointment.
“She’s a phenomenal choice for Police Commissioner and will be a steady hand during these turbulent times,” said Councilman Robert Holden (D-Holden).
Who will head the sanitation department after Tisch remained unclear Wednesday – and officials said her replacement will have big shoes to fill.
“Commissioner Tisch’s tenure at the Department of Sanitation was nothing short of groundbreaking,” said Councilman Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan), who chaired the council committee that oversaw DSNY during Tisch’s tenure.
“She has shown us how to think big and act boldly, and I’m excited to see what she accomplishes next as she takes the helm of the NYPD.”
NYPD union leaders who will have to work with Tisch also welcomed the new top cop.
“NYC Detectives are elated by this choice,” said Scott Munro, who heads the Detectives’ Endowment Association union. “We know we will work well with her. She understands the NYPD. We can count on her.”
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said he hopes “to partner with Commissioner Tisch to make real progress on these issues as quickly as possible.”
“The future of the NYPD and the entire city depends on it,” he added.
Tisch’s appointment is also groundbreaking, as she’ll be the second woman after Adams’ first top cop Keechant Sewell to head the NYPD.
But, for Adams, the pick carries a dubious distinction – Tisch will be his fourth NYPD commissioner, including Donlon, an unprecedented situation for a first-term Big Apple mayor.
Sewell resigned amid interference from City Hall and was replaced by Caban, who stepped down in disgrace as federal prosecutors amped up their criminal probes into the mayor’s inner circle.
Interim Commissioner Donlon then quickly found himself mired in turmoil, including the feds raiding his home in search of decades-old documents and a high-profile public brawl with Sheppard, the NYPD’s newly installed chief of staff, during an NYC Marathon photo op.
“Let’s see how long this commissioner lasts,” one Manhattan cop quipped of Tisch.
“This is his fourth Commissioner in three years, what a joke,” the cop added of Adams, a former NYPD officer. “This is the one agency he supposedly knows the most about and he can’t even get the commissioner right. Even [former Mayor Bill] de Blasio only had three commissioners in eight years.”
– Additional reporting by Joe Marino, Tina Moore and Aneeta Bhole
