Jessica Tisch officially becomes the NYPD's 49th police commissioner

Jessica Tisch officially became the NYPD's new police commissioner on Monday, the second woman to hold the post in the history of the department and the fourth person to serve on the job under New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

With her mother, Merryl Tisch, holding the family Bible and her two sons, Harry and Larry, along with other family members and dignitaries looking on, Tisch took the oath at the auditorium of police headquarters at 1 Police Plaza in lower Manhattan. She said she is also taking the badge of her late grandfather Rabbi Philip Hiat, who for a time served as an NYPD chaplain.

"To the men and women of the NYPD, my greatest hope is that together we will return this noble undertaking, this job of high moral purpose, to a time and a place where you want your children, your grandchildren, your nieces, your nephews to follow in your footsteps and become police officers," Tisch said shortly after taking the oath.

Tisch, 43, who until days ago was sanitation commissioner, takes over the country's largest police department that has had tumultuous leadership changes under Adams' administration.

A veteran of 17 years in city government — including 12 years in the NYPD in various positions from counterintelligence analyst to deputy commissioner for information technology — Tisch said in a short address that she aims to keep the citizens of the city safe.

"Your cops, through generations before them, nobly put their lives on the line to protect you and your families," Tisch said in a message to city residents.

Tisch takes the reins from interim Commissioner Tom Donlon, who took over for a two-month stint following the abrupt resignation in September of Edward Caban amid a mushrooming federal investigation of the Adams administration. Caban has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Tisch is the second woman to serve as police commissioner, following the appointment of Keechant Sewell, of Nassau County, in 2022. Sewell quit in 2023 after 18 months after she reportedly clashed with Adams and his staff over the running of the department.

It was Adams who issued the oath of office to Tisch at 11:14 a.m., followed by a round of applause and cheers from those present at the short ceremony.

"There were many people who wanted to have this prestigious job," the mayor said before administering the oath." There's something special about being a police commissioner in the City of New York. But when I looked over not only her credentials, I looked over the resume of the Tisch family. And I realized who I was getting."

Several issues are facing the NYPD, most notably the stubborn rate of attrition of police officers, some of whom leave to take other law enforcement jobs in nearby counties such as Suffolk and Nassau. 

Former NYPD Commissioners Ray Kelly, Bill Bratton and Dermot Shea attended the ceremony and each got a shout out from Tisch. Records indicate Tisch is the 49th NYPD commissioner since the job was formed in 1901, counting two terms each for Bratton and Kelly and Donlon's two-months interim tenure.

"The department right now is in a tough place, morale is tough," Bratton said after the ceremony. "The NYPD has phenomenal challenges ahead, in the months ahead and it is nice to have somebody in charge here on the 14h floor who understands the department, its capabilities and its limitations."

Shea said of Tisch: “She knows what she is doing. I think she will be great for the city, going to wrap her arms around public safety and improve morale and I can’t wait to see her get going."

"I think she is a one-person trifecta," said Richard Aborn, head of the nonprofit New York City Citizens Crime Commission. “She knows the department, she knows how to manage and she knows technology, and technology is the key to policing going forward."

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.