New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is preparing to disband the NYPD's Strategic Response Group, the roughly 600-officer unit that has policed the city's biggest protests, Politico reported on Thursday, November 12, 2026. The move would fulfil one of the democratic socialist mayor's campaign promises: to separate protest policing from counterterrorism.

City Hall confirmed the plan on Thursday. "As the Mayor has said, our administration will disband the Strategic Response Group and separate protest response from counterterrorism. We will have more to share soon," spokesperson Dora Pekec told Politico. An announcement could come as early as this week, according to three people with knowledge of the plan.

Key Points

• Mayor Zohran Mamdani is preparing to announce plans to disband the NYPD's Strategic Response Group, Politico reported on Thursday, November 12, 2026, citing three sources.
• City Hall confirmed the plan: spokesperson Dora Pekec said the administration will disband the unit and separate protest response from counterterrorism.
• The Strategic Response Group is a roughly 600-officer unit formed in 2015 that handles riots, protests, civil disorders, major events and counterterrorism.
• Mamdani pledged in his campaign to disband the unit, arguing its counterterrorism and protest-response roles should not be combined.
• Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, retained by Mamdani, has defended the unit, saying the NYPD facilitated 4,255 protests in 2025 with the unit available at 245 of them.

What Happened

Politico reported on Thursday that Mamdani is preparing to announce plans to disband the Strategic Response Group, citing three people with knowledge of the announcement. An announcement could come as early as this week, though no date has been confirmed.

City Hall did not dispute the report. Pekec confirmed the direction: the administration will disband the unit and separate protest response from counterterrorism, with more detail to follow. The plan could be formalised by executive order, sources told Politico.

Under the plan, the Strategic Response Group could be placed under Mamdani's new Office of Community Safety, with protest response handed to a civilian de-escalation unit. That would break with a decade in which the same officers who handled counterterrorism threats also staffed protest lines.

Background and Context

The Strategic Response Group was formed in 2015. Its mandate covers riots, large protests, civil disorders, major events and counterterrorism threats, and its officers are trained for both crowd control and rapid response. Its helmeted officers are a familiar sight at marches and major events across the five boroughs.

The unit has long drawn scrutiny over its protest policing. Critics say its tactics during the 2020 protests after the murder of George Floyd were heavy-handed, and a 2023 court settlement imposed new restrictions on how the department polices demonstrations.

Mamdani made disbanding the unit a clear campaign pledge. In December 2024 he wrote on X that the unit "has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements + brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights". He reaffirmed the pledge at a press conference in September, saying the unit's counterterrorism and protest-response roles should not be dual purposes.

The mayor's stance puts him at odds with parts of his own administration. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, retained by Mamdani, has defended the unit, saying it is deployed for protests involving criminal activity, not peaceful ones.

Mamdani Disbands NYPD Strategic Response Group

The plan is the clearest test yet of how far Mamdani intends to go in reshaping the department he now leads. It is also one of the most concrete promises from his campaign, and moving on it early signals that he intends to keep it.

Separating protest response from counterterrorism would change who shows up at a demonstration and how they are trained. Counterterrorism work would remain with the police, while protest response would shift to a civilian de-escalation unit under the new Office of Community Safety. Staffing, training and the timeline have not yet been announced.

The scale of the change is significant. A 600-officer unit is not a small piece of the department, and its officers are among the most experienced in crowd management. Disbanding it raises practical questions about who handles a protest that turns violent or secures a major event. Mamdani-backed candidates won all three New York House seats in the midterms, a result that showed the strength of the coalition behind the mayor's agenda.

Reactions and Quotes

City Hall's confirmation was brief. "As the Mayor has said, our administration will disband the Strategic Response Group and separate protest response from counterterrorism. We will have more to share soon," Pekec told Politico.

Mamdani's own words on the unit go back to his campaign. In December 2024 he wrote on X that the unit "has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements + brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights". At his September press conference, he said the unit's counterterrorism and protest-response roles should not be dual purposes.

Tisch has made the case for keeping the unit, saying it is a small part of the department's protest work, deployed where there is criminal activity rather than at peaceful gatherings.

Why It Matters

The decision matters because it touches the daily reality of protest in America's largest city, where thousands of demonstrations take place each year. How they are policed shapes whether people feel safe exercising their First Amendment rights. The mayor has already faced court tests of his agenda: an appeals court cleared Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax on New York second homes, a ruling that let one of his early revenue measures stand. It is also a test of his governing style: he won office promising a different approach to public safety, and other cities are watching whether separating protest response from counterterrorism works.

What Happens Next

The next step is the announcement itself, which could come as early as this week. City Hall has said more detail will follow, and the key questions are the form the change takes, the timeline, and what happens to the unit's officers.

Watch for whether the plan is issued as an executive order, as sources have suggested, and for the structure of the new Office of Community Safety and its civilian de-escalation unit. Police unions and the City Council will react, as will Tisch once details are known. The first real test will come at the next large protest, when whatever replaces the unit must show it can keep a demonstration safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NYPD Strategic Response Group?
The Strategic Response Group is a roughly 600-officer NYPD unit formed in 2015 that responds to riots, large protests, civil disorders, major events and counterterrorism threats.

Why does Mamdani want to disband it?
Mamdani pledged in his campaign to disband the unit, arguing its counterterrorism and protest-response roles should not be combined.

Who would handle protests instead?
Under the plan, protest response would go to a civilian de-escalation unit, with the Strategic Response Group placed under Mamdani's new Office of Community Safety.

What does Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch think?
Tisch, retained by Mamdani, has defended the unit.

When will the change happen?
No date has been confirmed. Politico reported the announcement could come as early as this week, and City Hall said it will share more soon.