New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday unveiled a new office dedicated to community safety, a tentative first step toward fulfilling a key campaign pledge to reduce the role of police in responding to mental health emergencies.
Mamdani initially envisioned a $1 billion-per-year agency that would dispatch civilian workers, instead of police, in non-criminal emergencies. His initial proposal is far more modest, though, launching with only two staff members and few immediate plans to shift the city's approach to 911 calls.
