Mamdani unveils pared version of hyped ‘Community Safety’ agency — with 2 staffers, $260M budget

 Mayor Zohran Mamdani is rolling out a lite version of his much-touted “Department of Community Safety” — with just two staffers and a budget of $260 million.

Mamdani had promised a department with a $1.1 billion budget that would send social workers to respond to non-violent 911 calls instead of the NYPD.

Instead, he’s set to unveil the new “Mayor’s Office of Community Safety” on Thursday, a significantly smaller initiative than he’d long vowed to create — and one that immediately raised eyebrows.

“This feels more like Thrive 2.0,” former city comptroller and ex-mayoral candidate Scott Stringer wrote on X, referring to de Blasio’s $1 billion mental health boondoggle.

“How can you have no spending plan for 250 m. No staff? If this was announced during the campaign he would have lost.”

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Port Authority police patrolling Penn Station on March 13, 2026.Getty Images

The new mayor’s office was first reported by The New York Times, which noted Mamdani will launch it with an executive order. In order to create an entirely new department as promised, he would have needed the OK of the City Council, led by moderate Speaker Julie Menin.

Sources told The Post that City Hall shifted strategy weeks ago, mulling creating a “deputy mayor” role rather than a Department of Community Safety.

https://nypost.com/2026/03/19/us-news/zohran-mamdanis-unveils-pared-down-version-of-hyped-community-safety-agency-with-just-2-staffers-and-260m-budget/