Mamdani preparing to disband NYPD protest and counterterrorism unit, Politico reports

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is preparing to announce a plan to disband the NYPD's Strategic Response Group, Politico reported, a step that would fulfill a long-held campaign pledge that has drawn mounting pressure from his base and questions about how the unit's responsibilities would be replaced.

The Strategic Response Group, known as the SRG, is the unit the department sends to protests, civil disturbances and major events, and it also handles counterterrorism operations. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has argued that those two missions should not sit inside the same command.

"I've been clear that my vision is for the disbanding of the SRG," Mamdani said at a press conference in September. He said the unit was created a little more than a decade ago with the intention of dealing with terroristic threats to the city, but that it eventually came to handle both counterterrorism and responses to people exercising First Amendment rights. He said he does not believe those purposes need to be dual purposes, and that the issue continues to be a conversation with his police commissioner.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a City Council budget hearing in March that her discussions with the mayor concerned "the future of how we police protests generally," not disbanding the unit.

Tisch also said at the March hearing that the SRG does not typically deal with peaceful protests and is deployed when demonstrations involve criminal activity. She noted that in 2025 the NYPD facilitated 4,255 protests, with the SRG available at 245 of them, or roughly 6 percent.

The NYPD describes the SRG as a "critical asset" during parades, protests and the papal visit, saying it responds to citywide mobilizations, civil disorders and major events. According to the department, SRG personnel are also deployed to areas requiring an increased police presence due to increased crime or other conditions, and the unit mobilizes for shootings, bank robberies, missing persons, demonstrations and other significant incidents.

Sources familiar with the plan told Politico that City Hall has been contemplating putting the SRG under the Office of Community Safety, which Mamdani launched earlier this year. The sources also said the plan could be formalized through an executive order.

"As the Mayor has said, our administration will disband the Strategic Response Group and separate protest response from counterterrorism," spokesperson Dora Pekec told Politico. "We will have more to share soon."

Fox News Digital reached out to City Hall for confirmation and comment on the mayor's reported plan but did not hear back in time for publication. The outlet also reached out to the NYPD for comment.