Democrat City Council member Phil Wong represents Central Queens. Here, he questions why Mayor Mamdani’s budget includes no new NYPD officers.
New Yorkers do not judge public safety by City Hall press releases.
They judge it by whether someone answers when a neighborhood is in trouble.
That is why it is so disappointing that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s $125.8 billion budget does not add a single NYPD officer.
Across the city, precincts answer 911 calls, investigate crimes, patrol streets and handle quality-of-life problems before they become bigger ones.
They cannot do it all when stretched thin.
In April, more than 100 vehicles took over 69th Street and Eliot Avenue in Queens.
Drivers did donuts around a fire between two gas stations, blocked the road and damaged a marked NYPD vehicle.
This was not some harmless meetup.
It was chaos.
Officers were handling another car meetup elsewhere.
That is the reality when lawlessness erupts in more than one place: understaffed precincts make impossible choices.
The NYPD has made arrests, but five people connected to the Eliot Avenue takeover are still wanted.
At Juniper Valley Park, I saw dozens of e-bikes recklessly circling the track.
My office called the precinct and was told officers would respond.
They never did.
About an hour later, a 5-year-old girl was struck by an e-bike.
When we called again, we were told only two patrol cars were out covering one of the city’s largest precincts.
Our cops are doing their best.
But they cannot be everywhere at once, and families should not have to wait until someone is hurt before a dangerous situation gets attention.
This is not just a Queens problem.
Every borough needs quick responses, visible officers and real enforcement.
Our parks need more Parks Enforcement Patrol officers, too.
Mamdani had room in this budget to make public safety a priority.
Instead, he walked away from an NYPD headcount increase.
At $125.8 billion, that is not a lack of resources.
It is a choice.
New Yorkers deserve better.