NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to unveil a plan for disbanding the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group as early as this week, according to three people with knowledge of the long-awaited announcement.
In dissolving the counterterrorism and protest-response unit, the democratic socialist mayor would fulfill a key 2025 campaign pledge with the aim of mollifying an increasingly restive base.
Mamdani’s plan is expected to involve nixing the SRG and potentially replacing it with a new civilian unit that would take the lead on responding to protests, said one of the people who spoke to POLITICO and, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss the announcement. Under the plan — which had not been finalized as of Thursday morning — the new civilian unit would be supported by NYPD officers, who would assemble nearby and could step in to conduct arrests if needed, said the person, noting that the civilian entity’s main goal would be deescalation…