NYC Mayor Eric Adams appoints Loew’s heiress Jessica Tisch to lead the NYPD

New York’s heir apparent Sanitation Commissioner is moving from the War on Rats to the War on Crime.

Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday named Jessica Tisch the second woman to serve as police commissioner in the nation’s largest city as he works to stabilize his administration amid an upcoming corruption trial and multiple federal investigations.

Tisch replaces interim top cop Tom Donlon and former police commissioner Edward Caban, the Adams appointee who resigned in September following an investigation into the NYPD’s enforcement of nightclub rules.

The city’s residents “need a strong, battle-tested leader who will continue to fight crime and ensure New Yorkers are safe and feel safe,” Adams said in a statement. “I can’t think of a better leader for the job than Commissioner Jessica Tisch.”

Tisch currently runs the city’s massive $1.9 billion waste and recycling operation. In that key role, Tisch made headlines in 2022 when she announced a war on rodents, saying, “Rats don’t run this town. We do.”

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Her appointment was a final piece in an effort pushed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to clean house and stabilize the city after Adams’ Sept. 26 indictment on federal bribery charges and a series of search warrants targeting his inner circle, according to two people. familiar with the case.

Adams has pleaded not guilty and will go on trial in April.

In addition to Caban, the former police commissioner, Adams’ City Hall has seen the departure of two vice mayors, the school chancellor, two close advisers and several other administration and police officials, all of whom were hit with federal subpoenas in at least three corruption probes.

Before her tenure led what is billed as largest sanitary department in the worldTisch served as Deputy Police Commissioner for Information Technology and as the Municipal Commissioner for Information Technology. Her father is billionaire James Tisch, CEO of Loews Corp. and former chairman of CBS.

More: New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleads not guilty in federal court to corruption charges

“I have seen firsthand the profound nobility of the police profession, and I was proud to work shoulder-to-shoulder with both uniformed members and civilians to propel the NYPD into the next century of technological advancement,” Tisch said in a statement.

Acting Commissioner Donlon, a Bronx-born former FBI official, had reportedly wanted to stay at the top of the NYPD. His chief of staff, Tarik Sheppard, was also in line for the job. The two had to be separated during a public row before the New York Marathon last month.

“Are we going to have meetings where people will disagree about something as passionate as they are?” Adams said when asked about the dust-up, a major breach of police discipline. “Yes, we are. And just because you argue with your spouse, your child, your business partner, doesn’t mean you don’t love them, you don’t like them.”

Tisch spent 12 years as a civilian NYPD employee.

The city’s Legal Aid Society said it was “hopeful that the appointment of Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner will bring wholesale change to a city agency in urgent need of reform.”

The group, which represents low-income criminal defendants, noted Tisch’s role as “a driving force behind the NYPD’s increase in the use of surveillance technology, a practice that must be limited and subject to more robust oversight.”

The appointment received high marks elsewhere.

“Jessie Tisch brings proven leadership skills and in-depth knowledge of the NYPD to the commissioner role,” said Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization representing New York’s corporate titans. “At this particular time, it is important to have a leader with a reputation for strong leadership.”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eric Adams names Jessica Tisch as new NYPD Commissioner