This piece is part of MI x DW, a collaboration that brings Daily Wire readers exclusive commentary and research from the Manhattan Institute’s world-class team of scholars.
***
New York City crime isn’t just a hot-button political issue; it’s also a concrete measure of how healthy public life is in the nation’s biggest city. So, whether crime is up or down in the Big Apple matters — for many reasons — which is why the question is fiercely debated and closely scrutinized. Unfortunately, the city doesn’t make it as easy as it could be for the public to track, understand, and contextualize the crime data it releases, which has led to some skepticism about the much-touted declines in crime that the NYPD has been claiming over the past 14 months. What are we to make of these conflicting claims? How is New York City really doing on crime?
The answer is two-fold: New York got safer in 2024 and ’25 — especially with respect to gun violence. But on other crime measures, the city remains well above pre-pandemic lows.
The city experienced two of its safest years in 2017 and 2018. But in 2020, homicides and shootings surged by 47% and 97%, respectively. The pandemic-related shutdowns kept New Yorkers indoors most of that year, leading to a decline in other major felony offenses tracked by the city. These offenses tend to have a more diverse set of victims than homicides and shootings, which often involve victims who are part of the same criminal networks as the perpetrators. However, the reported drop in crimes like robbery and assault concealed an important reality: when accounting for the reduced time potential victims spent outside (where such crimes usually happen), there was a sharp increase in the risk of assault and robbery in New York — by roughly 10-15%.
This might actually help explain why some people may not be feeling the declines that are being enthusiastically reported. A 10% decrease in reported robberies might not feel significant if it’s partly due to fewer opportunities to commit the crimes; and although foot traffic and subway ridership have somewhat recovered from the lows during the pandemic, many New Yorkers (some of whom have left the city entirely since 2020) haven’t fully returned to their pre-pandemic routines.
<h3 dir="ltr"><a href="https://manhattan.institute/subscribe?utm_source=DailyWire&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=reihan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for more Manhattan Institute content.</a></h3>
It&#8217;s also worth noting that in 2022, although both shootings and homicides began decreasing, other “major” crime categories increased by 22%. Those levels remained stable in 2023 before starting to decline in 2024. Last year, the city announced continued progress on both shootings (which dropped below 2017 levels) and homicides (which fell below the 2019 level), along with a broader decrease in other crime categories; however, compared to 2018, 2025 still experienced 17% more robberies, 48% more assaults, 10% more burglaries, and 149% more car thefts.
And while the city is reporting some progress on these measures through the first couple of months of 2026, those numbers may well be revised upward, as is commonly the case — and not just in New York. The early reports are encouraging, but it’s still too early to say whether 2026 will see the recent momentum shift.
So, while the city has massively improved on the gun violence front, New Yorkers are still at a higher risk of many other kinds of victimization than they were in 2018.
Important as all this is, we must not discount other measures of public safety and order.
Although they may be regarded as less serious than a robbery report, resident complaints about public disorder — such as open-air drug use, public urination, homeless encampments, and emotionally disturbed vagrants — highlight an important part of the story. In addition to the well-publicized “CompStat” reports issued by the NYPD, the department also monitors quality of life complaints (QOLstat), which are increasing on the streets and especially in the transit system (where such complaints are up more than 29% through March 22nd). On the streets, complaints for public urination (58%), graffiti (17%), and disorderly persons (20%) are all rising.
This matters. Disorder has long influenced how the public perceives crime and safety. Recognizing this effect is a key part of the Broken Windows theory <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/03/broken-windows/304465/">articulated</a> by George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson in their seminal 1982 article. The state of our public spaces shapes our perceptions of their safety and security. Just because an offense isn’t labeled a “major” crime by the agencies that track such things doesn’t mean it should be ignored in assessing a city’s overall safety.
The truth of the matter is that the NYPD and its partners have made genuine progress in their efforts to control and reduce the most serious crimes, but the nation’s largest city — now governed by the most anti-law-enforcement mayor of our time — is still far from <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/crime-in-new-york-dashboard">out of danger</a>. Whether New York can improve public safety will depend heavily on major decisions the mayor and city council must make in the coming months and years. Some healthy skepticism about the administration’s claims of success can help maintain pressure where it’s needed most.
***
Rafael A. Mangual is the Nick Ohnell fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a contributing editor of City Journal, and author of the 2022 book, Criminal (In)Justice.

New York City police patrol car, USA NYPD, 911 on Manhattan Midtown 34th street. American cop auto.

New York City’s Victory Lap On Crime Hides What’s Happening On The Streets

Crime

Crime stats

Manhattan Institute

New York City

NYPD

public safety

A New York City Police Department police chief who stopped a pair of ISIS-inspired men accused of trying to detonate a homemade bomb over the weekend credited his police instincts for inspiring his split-second reaction to the attempted terror attack.  
“When you see danger, you have that cop in you,” Chief Aaron Edwards <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/10/us-news/hero-nypd-chief-who-chased-down-bomb-suspects-breaks-silence-once-a-cop-always-a-cop/">told</a> the New York Post. “You react to it.”
On Saturday, Edwards helped detain 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi after they allegedly attempted to set off multiple improvised explosive devices outside of Gracie Mansion, New York City’s official mayoral residence. Both men have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/everything-we-know-about-the-suspected-nyc-terrorists">charged federally</a> with terrorism and are believed to have been inspired by ISIS.
Edwards, 46, saw a device being lit on Saturday and said the only thing that went through his mind was stopping the threat. 
“Three things gotta happen right now — we’ve got to catch this person, we’ve got to get people away from this device, and we’ve got to secure this area,” he told The New York Post. “And we were able to do that.”
A photo of Edwards leaping over a fence to chase after Balat quickly went viral and was shared online by the New York City Police Department. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Some heroes wear capes — Chief Aaron Edwards wears blue. <a href="https://t.co/wYvDfSbxgM">pic.twitter.com/wYvDfSbxgM</a>
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/2031179948916904113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Leading up to that moment, Edwards said he was on patrol when a fellow officer tapped him on the shoulder and asked what Balat and Kayumi were doing. 
“And you know, we needed to just start running towards them. We’re giving commands, we’re making verbal commands,” he said. “We start running towards them and, you know, the rest you can see on video.”
“I don’t mind doing the work, get my hands dirty,” Edwards added. “So when this happens — and it happens rather quickly — it wasn’t a thought in my mind on the danger.”
While he was praised for quick action, Edwards said his wife had a different reaction to the viral photo of him jumping toward danger. 
“She has a screenshot of it, she has it circled. She puts it in caps — in big caps: ‘WRONG DIRECTION SIR,&#8217;” he said. 
Edwards was inspired to become a police officer in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. He said he was ready to respond to danger at all times. 
“I always say, we’re all cops, right?” Edwards told the New York Post. “Regardless of rank, regardless of life, regardless of position, you’re a cop first. Once a cop, always a cop.&#8221;

Hero Cop

Hero NYPD Chief Seen Chasing ISIS Terror Suspects Relives His Split-Second Decision

ISIS

The Manhattan District Attorney&#8217;s Office, led by leftist Alvin Bragg, said it would not pursue an assault charge for a 27-year-old man who is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nypd-nabs-27-year-old-after-mamdani-dismissed-mob-targeting-police-as-kids-at-a-snowball-fight?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=NYPD+Nabs+27-Year-Old+After+Mamdani+Dismissed+Mob+Targeting+Police+As+%E2%80%98Kids+At+A+Snowball+Fight%E2%80%99">accused</a> of hurling chunks of snow and ice at New York&#8217;s Finest earlier this week.
Gusmane Coulibaly, who NYPD officers arrested on Thursday, was initially charged with assaulting a police officer after a mob of people surrounded officers at Washington Square Park on Monday and launched snowballs at them. His other charges of obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct were also downgraded. The only charges prosecutors are willing to pursue are harassment and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of governmental administration, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/manhattan-da-ditches-cop-assault-charge-in-case-against-washington-square-park-snowball-fight-miscreant/">reported</a>.
The New York City Police Benevolent Association, a union representing over 50,000 active and retired NYPD officers, blasted the district attorney&#8217;s office over its decision to drop the assault charge for Coulibaly. Patrick Hendry, the president of the union, accused Coulibaly and three other suspects who are still wanted of placing rocks in the snowballs before launching them at police officers.
“So why wasn’t assault charged? Why was harassment charged? Why do they feel that that didn’t cause an injury to a police officer, which he clearly, clearly has an injury below his eye?” Hendry asked.
Two NYPD officers were treated at the hospital for lacerations to their faces after they were hit with the snowballs.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Victoria Notaro told the court that prosecutors would have a difficult time proving that Coulibaly was responsible for the minor injuries to the officers, according to the Post.
Thursday&#8217;s arrest over the snowball ambush was Coulibaly&#8217;s second run-in with law enforcement this month. The NYPD said that the 27-year-old man was arrested &#8220;less than three weeks ago for attempted robbery in the transit system.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This morning, the NYPD arrested Gusmane Coulibaly, 27 years old, for assaulting our officers earlier this week in Washington Square Park.
Mr. Coulibaly was previously arrested less than three weeks ago for an attempted robbery in the transit system. <a href="https://t.co/IHO2zTC4tr">pic.twitter.com/IHO2zTC4tr</a>
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/2027010078302462147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The decision from the district attorney&#8217;s office to drop the assault charge comes after New York City democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-was-a-snowball-fight-mamdani-downplays-unruly-mob-that-injured-nypd-officers">downplayed</a> the mob&#8217;s actions, saying earlier this week, “I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight.”
Mamdani&#8217;s office told The Daily Wire on Thursday that the mayor does not believe any action during Monday&#8217;s snowball ambush of police officers &#8220;rises to the level of criminal charges.&#8221;
&#8220;As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect. The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand,&#8221; Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said.
The mayor&#8217;s stance on the incident is at odds with other New York officials, including the city&#8217;s Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul. Tisch called the mob&#8217;s actions &#8220;criminal,&#8221; while Hochul said it is “never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer.”

Gusmane Coulibaly/NYPD

Dem DA Hands Slap On Wrist To Man Accused Of Pelting NYPD With Ice Packed Snowballs

Manhattan DA Won't Pursue Assault Charge For 27-Year-Old Accused Of Pelting Police With Snowballs

Manhattan

Police

Zohran Mamdani

A 27-year-old man accused of a separate crime was arrested Thursday in relation to the mob that surrounded NYPD police officers and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-was-a-snowball-fight-mamdani-downplays-unruly-mob-that-injured-nypd-officers">pelted them with snowballs</a> earlier this week.
Gusmane Coulibaly was detained by NYPD officers after the department released images of four people, including Coulibaly, wanted after two officers were injured when a mob of people hurled snowballs at them at Washington Square Park on Monday. The NYPD said that Coulibaly was arrested earlier this month for &#8220;attempted robbery in the transit system.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This morning, the NYPD arrested Gusmane Coulibaly, 27 years old, for assaulting our officers earlier this week in Washington Square Park.
Mr. Coulibaly was previously arrested less than three weeks ago for an attempted robbery in the transit system. <a href="https://t.co/IHO2zTC4tr">pic.twitter.com/IHO2zTC4tr</a>
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/2027010078302462147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The three other suspects wanted by New York police remain at large, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/punk-with-rap-sheet-arrested-in-nypd-snowball-attack-and-he-is-not-a-kid-as-mayor-mamdani-insisted/">reported</a>. It remains unclear what charges Coulibaly faces.
New York City&#8217;s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani put himself at odds with other city and state officials, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, when he told reporters he disagreed with calls for arrests following the snowball attack.
The mayor urged people to treat the city’s law enforcement with respect, but added that the videos he saw of the incident only showed a snowball fight that &#8220;got out of hand.&#8221;
“Look, I’ve seen the videos of this snowball fight. I think that it was a snowball fight,&#8221; he said, later adding, “I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight.”
Mamdani&#8217;s office doubled down on the mayor&#8217;s stance on Thursday, with Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec telling The Daily Wire, “As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect. The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand. He does not believe this situation rises to the level of criminal charges.”
The incident took place after a massive storm dumped around two feet of snow on New York City and brought much of the Big Apple to a standstill on Monday.
One video of the incident shows officers attempting to walk through the crowd as people slung snowballs at them and ran up behind them to dump large chunks of snow and ice on their heads. Some people in the crowd stood in front of the officers as they tried to walk through the park, and the officers threw at least two people to the ground. Another video showed a group of police officers fleeing the scene as the crowd continued to hurl snowballs at them. Two officers were treated at the hospital for lacerations on their faces.
Tisch called the mob’s actions “disgraceful” and “criminal,&#8221; while Hochul said it is &#8220;never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer.&#8221;
The NYPD Police Benevolent Association celebrated the arrest of Coulibaly on Thursday and blasted Mayor Mamdani, <a href="https://x.com/NYCPBA/status/2027018775321559211">writing</a> on social media, &#8220;A 27-year-old is not a &#8216;kid,&#8217; @NYCMayor.&#8221;
&#8220;This individual is an adult with a recent attempted robbery arrest, and your message was that it’s OK for him to assault police officers for doing their job,&#8221; the police union added. &#8220;This arrest sends a different message. We’re grateful to all who have worked so hard on this case. There is more work to be done…&#8221;

NYPD Nabs 27-Year-Old After Mamdani Dismissed Mob Targeting Police As ‘Kids At A Snowball Fight’

NYPD Nabs 27-Year-Old After Mamdani Dismissed Mob Targeting Police As 'Kids At A Snowball Fight'

New York

New York City Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he does not believe anyone should be charged after a mob of people surrounded NYPD officers and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disgraceful-nypd-officers-pelted-with-snowballs-chased-out-of-park">flung snowballs</a> at them Monday afternoon, sending multiple officers to the hospital with minor injuries.
Mamdani told reporters on Tuesday that he disagrees with calls for those responsible for the attack on police officers to be charged. The leftist mayor said the videos of the incident he has watched show nothing more than &#8220;a snowball fight.&#8221;
&#8220;I think there were two officers who were facing lacerations on their face,&#8221; Mamdani said. He was then asked if he would call for the prosecution of the people who pelted the officers with snowballs. Mamdani replied, &#8220;Look, I&#8217;ve seen the videos of this snowball fight. I think that it was a snowball fight.&#8221;
The mayor&#8217;s comments are at odds with other New York officials, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who called the mob&#8217;s actions “disgraceful” and “criminal.”
“The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops. I want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal,” Tisch said. “Our detectives are investigating this matter.”
One <a href="https://x.com/BGOnTheScene/status/2026065265201475765">video</a> of the incident showed two of the police officers attempting to walk through the crowd as people slung snowballs at them and ran up behind them to dump large pieces of snow on their heads. Some people in the crowd stood in front of the officers as they tried to walk through the park, and the officers threw at least two people to the ground. Another <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qCsdPs1OWI">video</a> showed a group of police officers fleeing the scene as the crowd continued to hurl snowballs at them. No arrests have been made.
New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the mob that targeted police officers in New York City&#8217;s Washington Square Park.
&#8220;Our NYPD officers put themselves on the line to protect us every day. It is never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer, full stop,&#8221; Hochul said.
Meanwhile, Mamdani&#8217;s 2024 rivals, former Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, called on the mayor to condemn the attack on police officers and ripped his past anti-police rhetoric.
“Words have consequences. We are seeing that in the growing disrespect for law enforcement — just as we’ve seen it in the rise in antisemitism. Real leaders understand that. This mayor does not,&#8221; Cuomo said.
Mamdani referred to those who pelted NYPD officers with snowballs as &#8220;kids&#8221; and was asked by a reporter if he knew that &#8220;for a fact or is it possible these were adults?&#8221;
&#8220;I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight,&#8221; the mayor said.
Mamdani also urged people to treat the city&#8217;s law enforcement with respect: &#8220;Officers have been on the front line of helping us respond to this blizzard. They have been keeping New Yorkers safe &#8230; they and our entire city workforce, of course, deserve to be treated with respect.&#8221;
&#8220;The only person in our city&#8217;s workforce who deserves to be treated with a snowball is me,&#8221; he added. On Monday, Mamdani said that students who were upset that he made the decision to have remote classes after the massive snowstorm could throw snowballs at him.

NYC Mayor Mamdani Holds News Conference Briefing On Massive Incoming Snow Storm

‘It Was A Snowball Fight’: Mamdani Downplays Unruly Mob That Injured NYPD Officers

General

Law Enforcement

U.S.

Winter storm

In New York City, there&#8217;s been a gigantic freeze, a freeze that has not only beset New York City but also the rest of the East Coast.
In Washington Square Park, a group of people started <a href="https://abc7ny.com/post/nypd-officers-hit-snowballs-injured-responding-washington-square-park-manhattan/18641766/">hurling snowballs</a> at several NYPD officers responding to a call. Not playfully either. They were actually trying to hurt them. They hurled objects at the police officers.
Every one of these individuals should be identified, arrested, and sent to jail — every single one of them. Hurling objects at police officers, assaulting police officers, mobs of people, some of them masked, trying to assault police officers — this is 1970s-style disorder in New York City.
And yes, it has been prompted and promoted by people like Zohran Mamdani. The attitude that governance has toward people who are hoodlums in the streets has a marked impact on whether or not people act like hoodlums in the street.
Forget about the broken windows theory. How about this: Attack a cop, you go to jail.
Pretty simple.
But the rising level of disorder and chaos we now see in the country is a direct result of governance decisions being made in blue cities, particularly by the people who actually run those blue cities. Does anyone think it has no impact on how people think of the cops that Zohran Mamdani has spent his entire career — prior to being elected mayor of New York — ripping on the cops and suggesting that they are a nefarious force for viciousness?
Of course, it has an impact.
Every single one of those people pelting the NYPD with snowballs should go to jail. Those are full-grown adults, by the way. Those are not kids. You&#8217;re not talking about misbegotten 15-year-old juvenile delinquents who get frisky with the cops.
If you look at the video, you can see people standing there, and when the cops arrive, they start hurling objects at them.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2373-candace-owens-is-evil-trash?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Jessica Tisch, who is the commissioner of the NYPD, put out this statement: “The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops. I want to be very clear: the behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal. Our detectives are investigating this matter.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops.
I want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal.
Our detectives are investigating this matter.
— Jessica S. Tisch (@NYPDPC) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPDPC/status/2026128921905803638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @NYPDPC/X.com
The Patrolmen&#8217;s Benevolent Association stated, &#8220;This is the environment that NYC police officers are up against. Our police officers are being treated for their injuries, but the case CANNOT end there. The individuals involved must be identified, arrested and charged with assault on a police officer. And all of our city leaders must speak up to condemn this despicable attack.&#8221;
The fact is, this attitude toward the police has become commonplace in the United States. 
Beginning in 2014, you had the Ferguson riots, justified by the president of the United States. Americans didn&#8217;t like that; Donald Trump was elected. You saw a reversion to a law-and-order attitude at the top, but in 2020, the anti-police attitude broke out anew on a much bigger scale.
Now you have blue cities that are being taken over by people who are effectively defund-the-police advocates.
Those advocates may turn around and claim they want to work with the cops, but it&#8217;s too late: message received.
This disorder comes from the top. It does not come from the bottom. A disordered government leads to a disordered citizenry. 
There&#8217;s a reason that we use the phrase “law and order.” It&#8217;s not just law; order also has to be implemented. 
Speaking of Zohran Mamdani — who has totally changed the policy in New York City with regard to getting people off the streets in the middle of blizzards, and then a bunch of people died — he&#8217;s saying that people actually died from overdoses, not because they were freezing. 
You&#8217;re doing a great job, Mayor Uselessness. 
“We have more than 500 homeless outreach workers who have been traversing the five boroughs looking to connect homeless New Yorkers with services and support,” he declared. “And what we&#8217;ve also learned is the tools that were effective over the course of the prolonged cold period —again, a historic period of subfreezing conditions — those are ones we&#8217;ve employed from the very first day of our response to this one. I&#8217;ll give you one example. A number of those New Yorkers who lost their lives. The preliminary indications came that it was from an overdose-related death.” 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/friendly-fire?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_content=20260224_sotu_aa_desktop&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=banner" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Watch the State of the Union with The Daily Wire! Live coverage from the nation&#8217;s capital begins at 7:45 ET.</a>
It might have helped if he had forced those people to go inside. Perhaps if he didn&#8217;t let people sleep outdoors at all —regardless of the weather —people would die less often of drug overdoses on the street. 
But Mayor Smarmy over there grins at the camera. 
Always. 
And then through that gritted, smarmy smile, he utters the most inane platitudes. 
New Yorkers: You broke it.
You bought it.

Northeast Storm Knocks Out Power, Cancels Flights

Snowballs, NYPD, And Mamdani’s Smarmy Disorder

Ben Shapiro

Democratic Socialism

Homelessness

Opinion

Snow

Multiple officers with the New York City Police Department were targeted by people who started a snowball fight in a park after a massive winter storm dumped around two feet of snow in the area.
As much of the city was at a standstill due to the storm, a large group organized a snowball fight at Washington Square Park on Monday afternoon. NYPD officers responded to the scene after some people had climbed onto the roof of one of the buildings inside the park, ABC 7 New York reported.
Video shows multiple people pelting the officers with snow as others stood by with their phones out to record. Multiple officers were injured and treated at the hospital for lacerations on their faces, according to the outlet.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Multiple NYPD officers hit with snowballs, injured in Washington Square Park" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4qCsdPs1OWI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another <a href="https://x.com/BGOnTheScene/status/2026065265201475765">video</a> shared on social media showed two of the police officers attempting to walk through the crowd as people slung snowballs at them and ran up behind them to dump large pieces of snow on their heads. Some people in the crowd stood in front of the officers as they tried to walk through the park, and the officers threw at least two people to the ground. It does not appear that anyone was arrested, however.
One of the videos showed a group of police officers fleeing from the scene as the crowd continued to hurl snowballs at them.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the actions &#8220;disgraceful&#8221; and &#8220;criminal.&#8221;
&#8220;The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops. I want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal,&#8221; Tisch <a href="https://x.com/NYPDPC/status/2026128921905803638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2026128921905803638%7Ctwgr%5E255217b0726999553d44c8fe3a95ef56634573d0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fabc7ny.com%2Fpost%2Fnypd-officers-hit-snowballs-injured-responding-washington-square-park-manhattan%2F18641766%2F">said</a>. &#8220;Our detectives are investigating this matter.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/friendly-fire?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_content=20260224_sotu_aa_desktop&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=banner" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Watch the State of the Union with The Daily Wire! Live coverage from the nation&#8217;s capital begins at 7:45 ET.</a>
New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has <a href="https://x.com/ZohranKMamdani/status/1277414510131916801?lang=en">referred</a> to police as &#8220;racist&#8221; and a &#8220;threat&#8221; in the past, has not commented on the incident. Following the snowball attack on police, Mamdani was put on blast by New York political rivals, including former Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who both lost to Mamdani in the 2025 mayoral election.
&#8220;This is disgraceful. But with a mayor who has a history of calling the police &#8216;racist, evil, wicked and corrupt,&#8217; he set the tone,&#8221; Cuomo wrote on X. &#8220;Words have consequences. We are seeing that in the growing disrespect for law enforcement — just as we’ve seen it in the rise in antisemitism. Real leaders understand that. This mayor does not. @NYCMayor must denounce this at once.&#8221;
Adams, who left office last month after Mamdani&#8217;s victory, <a href="https://x.com/ericadamsfornyc/status/2026233199454548446">wrote</a>, &#8220;Watching officers get pelted with snow while they are out in brutal weather protecting this city should make every New Yorker furious. It is disgusting behavior. And the politicians who constantly bash the police and refuse to have their backs are setting a terrible example. Leadership matters. Tone matters. ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS must speak out and make it clear that attacks on our officers, in any form, will not stand. Back the police. Full stop.&#8221;
New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney also pointed the finger at Mamdani after the snowball mob targeted police officers.
&#8220;You can thank Mamdani’s anti-police rhetoric for this,&#8221; she said. &#8220;New Yorkers should not stand for this and those responsible should be held accountable.&#8221;
The major winter storm was the first test of Mamdani&#8217;s emergency preparedness and response as mayor, and he also faced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyc-raises-wages-to-30-hour-to-lure-snow-shovelers-after-historic-blizzard">criticism</a> after the city struggled to attract snow shovelers. After few people signed up to clear snow, the city reportedly increased the hourly wage from $19.14 to $30 per hour.

‘Disgraceful’: NYPD Officers Pelted With Snowballs, Chased Out Of Park

With conservatives justifiably in despair over the election of Marxist-Islamist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, it is vitally important to remember that Mamdani has promised to eliminate the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group (SRG), which works hand in hand with the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau (CTB).
Last December, Mamdani wrote on X, “As Mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements + brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment [sic] rights.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Today the NYPD deployed the Strategic Response Group (SRG) to harass + arrest striking <a href="https://twitter.com/Teamsters?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@teamsters</a>.
As Mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements + brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights.
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZohranKMamdani/status/1869848787201532169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Current New York City Mayor Eric Adams has <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/11/05/us-news/nyc-jewish-groups-vow-to-hold-zohran-mamdani-accountable/">ripped</a> Mamdani for his suggestion, declaring, “When you start dismantling the pieces of the law enforcement apparatus that is specifically designed to carry out functions — that is extremely dangerous. A lack of knowledge and understanding of these roles really could harm law enforcement. There are no routine jobs in the police department. They can turn violent instantly. So I think it’s the wrong decision to do and we should never endanger public safety in the city. It’s not an experiment, it’s experience.”
The NYPD’s SRG was created in 2015 under the department’s Citywide Operations Bureau. It coordinates with NYPD’s CTB, which was founded in 2002 after the 9/11 attacks, in which radical Islamic terrorists killed roughly 3,000 Americans and destroyed the Twin Towers in New York City.
When the NYPD receives credible terrorist threats, the CTB assesses them and leads the response. The SRG is then deployed to provide tactical manpower — heavily armed, mobile teams trained for rapid containment, evacuations, or securing perimeters. The CTB provides the intelligence and threat analysis, while SRG provides tactical and crowd control capacity. SRG officers receive counterterrorism briefings and CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) response training through CTB programs.
“The CT Bureau reviews possible terrorist targets and develops innovative, forward-thinking policies and procedures to guard against attacks, training first responders and specialized units and developing intelligence capabilities for detecting and preventing terrorist attacks,” the CTB’s website <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/investigative/counterterrorism.page?utm_source=chatgpt.com">states</a>. “The bureau coordinates with federal, state, and other law enforcement agencies in intelligence gathering and sharing, and plays an integral role in the FBI&#8217;s Joint Terrorist Task Force.”
“Joint Terrorist Task Force (JTTF) is a multi-law enforcement agency that includes NYPD detectives and FBI special agents who investigate terrorism in the New York City metropolitan area and around the world,” the website continues. “Following the 9/11 attacks, the NYPD substantially increased the number of detectives assigned to the JTTF. This partnership with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies provides the NYPD with access to national level classified intelligence and the ability to analyze and share its own intelligence on the federal level.”
If the CTB discovers a terrorist cell, the SRG may prove vital in supplying the forces to target the terrorists.
And Mamdani wants to eliminate the SRG.

US-POLITICS-VOTE-NEW YORK-MAMDANI

While Threats Loom, Mamdani Vows To Axe Key Anti-Terror NYPD Unit

New York Police Department (NYPD)

Politics

Terrorism

The Houston Police Officers&#8217; Union is aiming to recruit NYPD officers disaffected by Tuesday&#8217;s election of Democratic socialist Zohran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdani-time-new-york-city-turns-to-muslim-socialist-zohran-mamdani-as-next-mayor?author=Brecca+Stoll&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=MAMDANI+TIME%3A+New+York+City+Turns+To+Muslim+Socialist+Zohran+Mamdani+As+Next+Mayor">Mamdani</a> as New York City mayor.
The police union released an ad on Tuesday, asking officers flat out: &#8220;NYPD, are you disgusted with the election of Zohran Mamdani?&#8221;
Mamdani, 34, has pledged to replace police officers with mental health professionals to respond to certain crisis situations across the Big Apple. He previously called to &#8220;defund the police,&#8221; but has attempted to <a href="https://x.com/america/status/1979180171539141060" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backtrack</a> on the problematic stance during his mayoral campaign.
His critics have said that crime will only surge under his leadership.
Mamdani has also pledged to champion the sanctuary city policy that&#8217;s hamstrung local police and prevented them from handing illegal immigrant criminals over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We believe socialism is going to be bad for law enforcement in New York City. There is opportunity here in Houston for officers to come, make a great life for themselves, the cost of living is a lot less and you can actually do police work and be supported by our mayor and our city council,&#8221; Houston Police Union President Doug Griffith <a href="https://x.com/Brooketaylortv/status/1986076753131897341" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
‼️‼️ ATTENTION NEW YORK CITY COPS ‼️‼️ <a href="https://t.co/zPyDTH7x9M">pic.twitter.com/zPyDTH7x9M</a>
— Houston Police Officers&#8217; Union (@HPOUTX) <a href="https://twitter.com/HPOUTX/status/1985911791642104003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
In their appeal, Texas&#8217;s largest police union offered &#8220;competitive pay&#8221; and other benefits, while also promising a &#8220;supportive mayor and city council.&#8221;
Mamdani, an assemblyman from Queens, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after receiving more than 1,000,000 votes. The Republican on the ballot, Curtis Sliwa, lagged far behind the two candidates.

‘Are You Disgusted?’ Texas Police Union Recruits NYPD Officers After Mamdani’s Win

Texas Police Union Runs Ad To Recruit NYPD Officers Following Mamdani's Win 

Texas

With a strong possibility that New York City might elect anti-police candidate Zohran Mamdani as mayor, Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis made a pitch directly to NYPD officers, asking them, “Do you want to go out there and risk your life knowing that the mayor hates you?”
In 2020, Mamdani <a href="https://news.meaww.com/zohran-mamdani-slammed-as-old-defund-police-stance-resurfaces-after-ny-cop-killed-in-manhattan-shooting?utm_source=chatgpt.com">wrote</a> on social media, &#8220;No, we want to defund the police,&#8221; &#8220;Queer liberation means defund the police,&#8221; and accused the NYPD of being &#8220;racist, anti-queer &amp; a major threat to public safety.&#8221; He later wrote, &#8220;There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked and corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence.&#8221; In 2023, he declared that the “boot of the NYPD is on your neck.”
“If he’s elected, I think it’ll be an example of voters of New York City committing an act of ballistic podiatry because it is going to come back and bite the city,” DeSantis told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum. “He is so far Left and he mixes his leftism with Islamism. He’s going to make the (former NYC Democratic Mayor Bill) de Blasio years look like the golden age.”
“And I can tell you, in Florida we’re affected by this, just with the law enforcement alone,” he continued. “If you’re working in NYPD, do you want to go out there and risk your life knowing that the mayor hates you? No, a lot of them are not going to want to do that, and in Florida, we’ve established a $5,000 recruitment bonus. So if you are somebody that doesn’t want to serve under that guy as mayor, you come to Florida, any state or local law-enforcement agency, you get $5000 right at the top.”
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
“I will tell you: If you say you’re going to disband the NYPD, if you put the criminals back on the street, if you engage in far-Left policies that would make George Soros blush, people do respond to that,” DeSantis said of the possibility that New Yorkers may leave the city if Mamdani is elected. “And of all the people that have migrated to Florida since I’ve been governor, I would say the number one reason they’ve left places — like New York City under De Blasio, like they’ve left Chicago under this mayor and the previous mayor, like leaving San Francisco and Los Angeles — is public safety. Those leftist politicians turn their backs on the police, turn their backs on the rule of law, and then the citizens were the ones that paid the price.”
“And I will tell you the disproportionate impact on those far-Left policies that do help the criminal element is actually not even the wealthy people — though they’re affected to a certain extent — it’s the working class people; it’s the middle class. Those are the folks that get affected the most. I do think that he will spark migration out of the city, particularly if he follows through on his far-left, anti-law enforcement policies,” he concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today, I joined Martha MacCallum on Fox News. <a href="https://t.co/shacUmwYDl">pic.twitter.com/shacUmwYDl</a>
&mdash; Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1983260202397769819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;

MixCollage-29-Oct-2025-09-50-AM-4819

DeSantis To NYPD: Don’t Risk Your Life For A Mayor Who Hates You

Defund The Police

Elections

Florida

Ron DeSantis

<div>
Speaking in 2023, Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s hyper-antisemitism, intertwined with his socialist contempt for police and the capitalist system, was amply displayed in a comment about the NYPD and Israel.
</div>
<div>
Mamdani referred to the “boot of the NYPD” being on the neck of New York City residents, adding that the “boot” was “laced by the IDF.”
</div>
<div>
In a gobbledygook statement that was redolent with his completely anti-Western views, Mamdani stated, “The importance for me of international solidarity is that it takes me out of the American political landscape and reminds me just how tame some of the things that I’m actually calling for in the next board. And it reminds me of the necessity of grounding ourselves in the struggles as opposed to the fights around the struggles. For anyone to care about these issues &#8230; We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it&#8217;s been laced by the IDF. We’re in a country where those connections abound. Especially in New York City, you have so many opportunities to make clear the ways in which that struggle over there is tied to capitalist interests over here.”
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
September, 2023. 
Zohran Mamdani: &quot;We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it&#39;s been laced by the IDF.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/sr8pQyKvCq">pic.twitter.com/sr8pQyKvCq</a>
&mdash; MAZE (@mazemoore) <a href="https://twitter.com/mazemoore/status/1982974662175752646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div>
In 2020, Mamdani <a href="https://news.meaww.com/zohran-mamdani-slammed-as-old-defund-police-stance-resurfaces-after-ny-cop-killed-in-manhattan-shooting?utm_source=chatgpt.com">wrote</a> on social media, &#8220;No, we want to defund the police,&#8221; &#8220;Queer liberation means defund the police,&#8221; and accused the NYPD of being &#8220;racist, anti-queer &amp; a major threat to public safety.&#8221; He later wrote, &#8220;There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked and corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence.&#8221;
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
</div>
<div>
In May 2025, Mamdani, who supports the BDS movement targeting Israel, <a href="https://jewishinsider.com/2025/05/zohran-mamdani-new-york-mayor-candidate-forum-uja-jcrc-ny-cuomo-jewish-israel/">refused to say</a> whether Israel had a right to exist as a Jewish state. He has <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-nyc-mayoral-frontrunner-zohran-mamdani-has-said-about-jews-and-israel/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">repeatedly referred</a> to Israel’s war against Hamas as a “genocide.”
</div>
<div>
Mamdani has sponsored a bill that would fine Jewish groups at least $1 million for donating to “unauthorized” charities operating in Israel. The legislation would ban Jewish synagogues and charities from donating to groups such as United Hatzalah and ZAK. These nonprofit groups specialize in emergency response and treatment of victims of terrorism, according to <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-859627?dicbo=v2-puQTs4k#google_vignette">The Jerusalem Post</a>.
</div>
<div>
Tim Pearce contributed to this article.
</div>

US-POLITICS-VOTE-NEWYORK-MAYOR

More Of Mamdani’s Anti-NYPD, Anti-Israel Rhetoric Resurfaces As Critics Warn Of Dangerous Extremism

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

It’s difficult to believe that 24 years have passed since that fateful September morning in 2001 when a group of radical Islamic terrorists slammed planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a rural field in Pennsylvania, murdering 2,977 innocent people.
So much had changed in New York City in the years leading up to that day. The city had been rescued from the throes of an unprecedented period of violent crime and disorder, fueled by a crack epidemic that ran from the early 1980s into the early 1990s. But in the decade leading up to September 11, 2001, the Big Apple had blossomed into the safest big city in the world. Businesses were flourishing. Tourism was booming. There was an atmosphere of safety and law and order in the streets. New York City was once again the mecca of the western world. I saw it happen and it was a beautiful thing to watch.
Under the leadership of Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton the NYPD was transformed from a rudderless, leaderless, reactionary force of report takers with no direction into an organized army of crime fighters who identified and attacked high-crime areas with a zero-tolerance policy, targeting hardcore crooks and putting them behind bars where they belong. I was a proud member of that army. It took a lot of blood sweat and tears to reduce crime to levels no one would have imagined just eight years earlier.
The city was like a shiny, old, classic car. It had a few dents and even a few ugly rust spots but the engine was humming and millions of citizens, tourists and businesses were riding around with the top down enjoying the sweet music and the cool breeze blowing through their hair. And then, on 9/11, when those planes smashed into our city, it felt like a cinderblock crashing through the windshield of that classic car.
I was at home that morning, getting ready for work when the first tower was struck at 8:46 AM. I was a Detective Lieutenant in the NYPD’s Intelligence Division. My first thought was that the plane striking the North Tower was an accident. Then, 17 minutes later, the second plane struck and there was no doubt we were under attack. I grabbed my suit jacket and raced toward the city.
I met up with a few members of my team on the side of the highway. We piled into one car and headed for Manhattan. There was no conversation. We drove in silence, listening to the frenzied traffic on our portable radios and the haunting, gut-wrenching transmissions of our fellow officers already on the scene pleading for help, some coughing and wheezing in the rubble, perhaps taking their last breaths. It was heartbreaking.
<div id="attachment_971053" style="width: 857px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-971053" class="size-large wp-image-971053" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1376061-847x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK CITY - SEPTEMBER 11: (FILE PHOTO) (PUERTO RICO OUT) This is a view from West Broadway Avenue of the downtown Manhattan area of the World Trade Center towers after they were hit by two planes during a terrorist attack September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora via Getty Images) ***PUERTO RICO OUT ****" width="847" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1376061-847x576.jpg 847w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1376061-300x204.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1376061-768x522.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1376061.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 847px) 100vw, 847px" />Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora via Getty Images</div>
As we approached the Queens Midtown tunnel, we saw the North Tower crumble and disappear from the skyline. It was another cinderblock crashing through the windshield of our classic car. I was seething.
We raced down the FDR drive headed south toward the Trade Center where we came upon a ghostly parade of terrified people covered in grey dust running north in the opposite direction we were headed. One of the guys in the car with me mumbled, “I think we’re going the wrong way.” I turned to him and snapped, “No. We’re going the right way.”
We eventually came to a stop just south of the Brooklyn Bridge because the FDR Drive had become an apocalyptic parking lot jammed with abandoned cars. We set out on foot crossing over from the FDR Drive to the side streets where we flagged down an empty ambulance and asked the driver to take us as close to the Trade Center as possible. We climbed into the back and slammed the door shut. As we moved through the narrow streets of downtown, the small rectangular window in the back of the ambulance only grew darker and then the ambulance stopped. This was as far as the driver could take us.
When we spilled out onto Broadway, it was like landing on another planet. Dust was flying everywhere. There was a 6-inch layer of ash, papers and personal belongings blanketing the streets. There was a ceiling of toxic smoke hovering over downtown like a London fog. The carnage was all around us. But the thing I remember most were the shoes. Maybe because I knew they were once connected to people. I wondered if they had run out of them and escaped or if their owners were crushed and burning in the rubble. As we wandered aimlessly in a pack, toward what was once the North and South towers, it was hard to fathom what we were seeing. In some places there were 10 story sections of buildings leaning up against other buildings. Fire trucks and cars were crushed beneath the smoldering rubble. We came upon a turbine from one of the planes near the corner of Murray and Church Streets. Further down the block was a piece of the landing gear.
As we wound through the streets, we could hear and feel the rumble of explosions beneath our feet. I imagined it was gas tanks of buried cars exploding beneath the fiery rubble until we encountered a pack of dust-covered firemen wandering around like we were. They warned us the explosions were manhole covers being blown up into the air by the pressure and heat of the fires raging below us and urged us to stay on the sidewalks to avoid being killed. So, we heeded their advice, breathing in the dust, trudging through the debris looking for survivors or people in need of help but only the dead beneath the rubble remained.
<div id="attachment_971055" style="width: 841px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-971055" class="size-large wp-image-971055" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1201348346-831x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: The streets of downtown New York are covered in debris after both World Trade Towers collapsed from a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)" width="831" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1201348346-831x576.jpg 831w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1201348346-300x208.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1201348346-768x533.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1201348346.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 831px) 100vw, 831px" />Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images</div>
As the afternoon wore on, and communications began to settle down, we got more organized. We eventually helped set up a makeshift morgue in the lobby of a building a few blocks north of the smoldering Trade Center. I don’t recall how many bodies came in. It wasn’t more than a few. But the one I remember most was Father Mychal Judge, the Chaplain of the New York City Fire Department. Five brave, somber, exhausted firemen carried his limp body into the lobby. They knelt down and prayed over him. It was a very moving. He had been struck by debris in the Lobby of the North Tower when the South Tower had collapsed.
By the afternoon, we were deployed up to Greenwich Street, several blocks north of Building 7 where we helped set up a perimeter to keep unauthorized people out of the area. We had a clear view of the 47-story building 7 and the fire raging halfway up inside. At 5:20 PM the building began to tremble. The windows popped across it like bubble wrap. The mighty building shook one last time and then fell straight down into itself sending a cloud of dust tumbling in our direction. The worst of the cloud dissipated before it could reach us. Watching that building fall was the final gut punch. I was so angry and so sad. It was hard to wrap my head around everything we had seen and heard that day. It still is 24 years later.
Every year, when this tragic anniversary rolls around, we hear the common mantra “Never Forget.” And it is true, we should never forget. But for the other 364 days of the year, many of them, especially those on the left, wake up every day trying to find new ways to divide us.
That’s why I prefer the phrase, “Always Remember.”
Always remember the sense of patriotism and unity we felt in the days, weeks, months and years that followed this tragedy.
Always remember how people from all different walks of life, strangers, came together and rallied around each other in ways I had never seen in my lifetime.
Always remember the caravans of civilians and first responders from all over the country who poured into the city with trucks, saws, and heavy equipment or just their hands and hearts begging to help with the rescue and recovery operations.
But most importantly, always remember the heroes, first responders and civilians alike, many of whom lost their lives, rushing into those buildings to save their fellow human beings, never for a second considering the race, religion, creed or sexual orientation of those they were trying to save.
Hate lost that day. 24 years later, however, it’s making a comeback. But if we just take the time to remember those things that united us, hate doesn’t have a chance.
* * *
John Dove is a retired NYPD Detective Lieutenant and the former co-executive producer of “CSI-NY” starring Gary Sinise.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Menu