The New York Police Department (NYPD) issued nearly 221,000 summonses for low-level offenses during the fiscal year spanning July 2025 through June 2026, marking a 13% increase over the previous year, according to the Mayor’s Management Report released earlier this month. This period includes the latter half of the Adams administration and the first six months under Mayor Jumaane Mamdani.

The rise in minor infraction enforcement has drawn criticism from the Legal Aid Society, which accused Mayor Mamdani of failing to fulfill his campaign pledge to move away from “broken-windows” policing—a strategy that emphasizes strict enforcement of minor violations to prevent more serious crimes. Legal Aid highlighted that half of the increase occurred during Mamdani’s tenure.

“Mayor Mamdani promised New Yorkers a departure from broken-windows policing, yet these numbers show the City continuing down the same troubling path of aggressive low-level enforcement pursued by the previous administration,” the organization stated. Legal Aid further warned that such enforcement can have serious consequences for individuals, including financial penalties, lost work hours, and involvement with the court system. The group also expressed concern about the impact on immigrant communities amid heightened federal immigration enforcement.

The report underscores racial disparities in enforcement, with Legal Aid noting that in the first quarter of 2026, roughly 94% of those arrested and 81% of individuals issued summonses for subway fare evasion were people of color. The figures for fare evasion enforcement remained largely consistent with the previous year’s numbers under former Mayor Eric Adams.

In addition to opposing the increase in low-level policing, Legal Aid criticized the Mamdani administration for not disbanding the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group or ending the maintenance of the department’s “gang database,” which Mamdani had vowed to eliminate while campaigning.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, appointed by Adams and retained by Mamdani, has overseen the department’s enforcement policies. NYPD officials attribute the rise in summonses to a 6% increase in 311 service requests, which reached over 1.7 million in 2026. Tisch has defended the department’s approach, characterizing it as a response to legitimate community concerns aimed at restoring order and improving quality of life, rather than an intensification of broken-windows policing.

In an August 2025 press conference, Tisch stated, “This isn’t broken-windows policing. This isn’t about cracking down to prevent crime—it’s about restoring order and improving quality of life.”

Mayor Mamdani addressed related issues during remarks at the U20 Summit of U.S. and international city leaders, describing his focus on “quality of life” matters—such as infrastructure and efficiency—as often mischaracterized along political lines. He rejected the notion that concerns over social disorder or inefficiency should be considered exclusive to any political ideology, emphasizing the importance of addressing these issues pragmatically to avoid allowing political opponents to assign blame.

Efforts to reach the mayor’s office for additional comment were pending at the time of publication.