New NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks at City Hall press conference announcing her appointment. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
On November 20, 2024, Mayor Eric Adams announced the appointment of Jessica Tisch as commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), effective November 25th. Tisch is the second woman to serve as NYPD Commissioner in the department’s 179-year history. The first, Commissioner Keechant Sewell, was also appointed under Mayor Adams; Tisch will be the fourth person to lead the NYPD since Adams took office in January 2022. Javier Lojan will serve as Acting Sanitation Commissioner. Lojan was the agency’s first deputy commissioner.
Tisch is a 17-year veteran of city government who was appointed as Commissioner of the Department of Sanitation in April 2022. As head of the Sanitation, Tisch managed the city’s waste collection, recycling, and disposal, as well as street cleaning and snow removal. Under Tisch’s leadership, the Adams administration launched its “Trash Revolution,” which placed 70 percent of the city’s trash under container mandate. Tisch also oversaw the rollout of weekly universal curbside composting service to all 3.5 million residences in NYC. In February 2023, Tisch spoke about her approach to the Department of Sanitation at the 184th CityLaw Breakfast, viewable here.
Before leading Sanitation, Tisch served as commissioner of the NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and citywide chief information officer from December 2019 to January 2022. As commissioner, Tisch ran the largest municipal IT organization in the country, with a wide portfolio ranging from public safety to human services to economic development and operating 311. Tisch also rolled out the city’s first text-to-911 capability. While at DoITT, Tisch was a core member of the team that managed the city’s COVID-19 pandemic response, building and managing critical programs like the 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 NYPD’s 911 operations. Tisch spearheaded efforts to use technology to transform the NYPD’s fundamental business processes, including how officers are dispatched and respond to 911 calls. Tisch also managed the development and implementation of the NYPD’s Domain Awareness System and ensured every officer was equipped with a smartphone, giving them access to real-time information in the field and improving accessibility to the public. Tisch also implemented the NYPD’s body camera program and led additional efforts to improve transparency, modernizing CompStat by prioritizing democratization of data to precincts.
Tisch began her public service career in 2008 as an NYPD a counterterrorism analyst. She is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School and was born and raised in New York City.
Incoming NYPD Commissioner Tisch stated, “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 . . . 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.”
Mayor Adams stated, “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. 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. As one of the most successful managers in our administration, I am confident that Commissioner Tisch will effectively lead the greatest police department in the world and continue to deliver the safety and peace of mind New Yorkers deserve.”
By: Cassidy Strong (Cassidy is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2025.)