Madison Square Garden Honored the NYPD. Mamdani Should Follow Suit
Saying thank you is important, but so is showing support for the police through policy action.
On Saturday night, thousands of police officers and their families crowded into Madison Square Garden for the first annual celebratory concert for the New York Police Department (NYPD). Put on by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, the event was meant as a salute to New York’s Finest.
The move is a welcome recognition by businesses of the importance that policing plays in sustaining order and prosperity in America’s largest city. But ensuring that the NYPD continues to prevent and address crime and disorder effectively requires that the mayor of New York and legislators in Albany do more to address long-term challenges. The business community is leading; Mayor Zohran Mamdani needs to follow suit.
As I entered the venue just before sundown, what was absent was just as telling as what would take place inside. There were no protests, demonstrations, or agitations of any kind. The situation could easily have been otherwise, considering the event had been announced publicly and thousands were already mobilized that same day for a No Kings Day rally just eight blocks north at Times Square.
But the zeitgeist has moved on. Where police once faced active hostility, including from the now-mayor of New York, that has receded into a recognition of the need for policing. For businesses, including Madison Square Garden, this was clear all along: cities are an incredible place to do business only if the accompanying downsides of proximity, like exposure to crime and disorder, are managed effectively.
Thus, the event was indeed the “sincere ‘thank you’ to our men and women in blue,” that James Dolan—CEO of Madison Square Garden and owner of the New York Knicks—had intended. Madison Square Garden’s sponsorship, and the $500,000 presented to the New York Police Foundation on behalf of the Garden and other corporate sponsors, represented a recognition that maintaining public order really does matter.
The officers and families in attendance appeared to have enjoyed the line up. First came Y2K-era rapper Fat Joe, then comedians Sam Morril and Chris Distefano, whose not-quite politically correct jokes caused roars of laughter. Later was Cyndi Lauper, who before performing told the crowd, “Thank you for your bravery.”
This concert is a step in the right direction. Salaries, pensions, and other work-related benefits have an effect on police morale. But for cops, seeing New Yorkers say “thank you” and knowing that their line of work is respected and necessary also makes a difference.
The next step is for Mamdani and politicians in Albany to build on this through substantive action that will allow the police department to work as effectively as possible. A good place to start would be for Mamdani to discard plans to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, which provides a specialized response to large mobilizations and major events, including threats of terrorism. Keeping the SRG would not only make New York City safer; it would also signal that the mayor no longer views the NYPD as an inherently hostile force.
Another substantive move would be for Mamdani to explicitly abandon his campaign suggestion to abolish the NYPD’s criminal gang database. That would allow the NYPD to keep doing their jobs while signaling that City Hall has confidence in them to do so.
Saying “thank you” to the men and women who serve in the New York Police Department—as Madison Square Garden and others have done—is important. Showing it through policy choices that build on this recognition is even more so.