FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker revealed he hasn’t heard from Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s camp since he announced his resignation in the wake of the democratic socialist’s election victory.
Tucker, who was appointed less than 18 months ago, claimed no one from Mamdani’s has reached out in the weeks since Nov. 4, when he was elected over ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
“I haven’t heard from anyone in his incoming administration, nor has the department, and so I only hope that that is not an indicator of their feelings about the FDNY, I’d like to think they think everything is going so well here that they don’t need to transition so fast,” Tucker said in an interview that aired Wednesday on “CBS Mornings.”
Tucker opened up for the first time about his reasons for announcing his resignation the day after Mamdani’s win in an emotional interview with host Tony Dokoupil. The commissioner — who is Jewish — said Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric and played a role in his decision.
“It’s a complicated, emotional decision to leave. But ideologically, there’s no doubt that the mayor and I disagree on some very fundamental things to me,” Tucker said.
“I don’t want to tell you that it’s the only factor, but I believe that the things that I have heard the mayor say would make it difficult for me to continue on in such a senior executive role in the administration,” said Tucker, whose resignation is effective Dec. 19.
Tucker also brought up Mamdani’s response to an antisemitic incident last week outside Park East Synagogue in the Upper East Side where a mob of protestors descended on the historic synagogue, with one agitator shouting, “We need to make them scared!”
Mamdani released a statement that, in part, supported the protestors who had gathered outside the synagogue on a night when the place of worship was hosting an event to encourage Jewish immigration to Israel.
“He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law,” a Mamdani-transition team spokesperson said.
The outgoing commissioner said that didn’t go far enough.
“I don’t know that the public has heard appropriately from him,” Tucker said. “I think he could have come out very quickly and condemned the behavior and some of the rhetoric.”
Tucker’s high-profile departure stands in stark contrast to Mamdani’s decision to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is also Jewish. Tisch accepted the mayor-elect’s offer to stay on last week.
“I respect her for the decision to stay, and I know she respects me for my decision to leave,” Tucker said.
