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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch personally apologized to her staff after her brother described him as an “enemy” of the Jewish people at a high-profile charity dinner in Manhattan on Wednesday evening.
Speaking at his Cocoa Chat community meeting, Mamdani stressed that the apology had been received and that he intended to govern for all New Yorkers.
“The commissioner apologized to my team for these remarks, and I look forward to serving as mayor for every New Yorker, including Jewish New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.
He stressed that the incident would not interfere with his working relationship with Tisch, whom he chose to retain as police commissioner despite political disagreements.
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Mayor-elect Mamdani responded to remarks made by Benjamin Tisch, brother of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, at a Community Cocoa event on Thursday. (Getty Images)
“The goal of my conversations with Commissioner Tisch is to ensure public safety and to do so in tandem with justice for New Yorkers in all five boroughs,” he said. “She apologized to the team. I appreciated it and I’m focusing on the performance again.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, NYPD spokesperson Brad Weekes shared the commissioner’s message:
“I understand the fear of the Jewish community. My sincere belief is that the mayor-elect will live up to the commitment he has made to be mayor for all New Yorkers, including the Jewish community.”
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NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch will continue to lead the department. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)
The apology came after Tisch’s brother, Benjamin Tisch, billionaire CEO of Loews Corporation, used his remarks at the annual Met Council Gala to call Mamdani an “enemy” of the Jewish people, according to two attendees who spoke to the New York Daily News.
Witnesses to the gala – which took place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan – described the moment as shocking, particularly because Commissioner Tisch recently agreed to remain head of the New York Police Department under the new Mamdani administration.
One attendee told the Daily News that the room reacted in stunned silence: “It was just like, ‘wow, he’s actually going to go.'” Benjamin Tisch has yet to publicly comment on the incident.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to the media at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and outspoken critic of Israel, has repeatedly rejected allegations that his views on Israel are anti-Semitic.
Members of the broader Tisch family have donated more than $1 million to super PACs opposing Mamdani in the 2025 mayoral race and supporting former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to the NY Daily News. Commissioner Tisch did not donate.
Last month, Mamdani told the NY Daily News: “We both will not hesitate to acknowledge that we disagree on certain issues… but I also believe that these disagreements are not only reconcilable, but are signs of a healthy partnership to come.”
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The outbreak of violence comes just weeks before Mamdani’s inauguration on January 1.
Mayor-elect Mamdani and a representative for Benjamin Tisch did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
