Brian Mayer on WNYC, you might remember that one of Mayor Mamdani's central campaign promises

was that he would create a so-called Department of Community Safety, or DCS.

A big part of that pitch was that the city would start sending social workers

to the scene of mental health crises in some cases instead of cops.

The shooting of J.Bez Trakraborti just last month by the NYPD offered a near perfect example of what

Mamdani's critics fear about this proposal. The initial 911 call did not mention a weapon,

but Chuck Borty, who suffered from schizophrenia, pulled one out after officers arrived on the scene.

So the looming question is essentially under Mamdani's vision, how would the city respond to cases like this?

And would those responses be protective enough?

Following the shooting, Mamdani said that he's going to speed up the development of the Department of Community Safety.

The mayor has historically taken a pretty critical stance toward the NYPD, as you know, not that long ago.

He advocated for defunding and all of that, but he has since walked back those positions in a big way.

Remember, in November, he even decided to keep the police commissioner,

Jessica Tisch, who was an Eric Adams appointee. So he's definitely responding to the fact

that New Yorkers do see public safety as a major concern, and he has expressed a strong

desire to build a positive relationship with Tisch and the department. So now that he's ramping up efforts to build the Department of

Community Safety, in addition, that relationship is going to be put to the test in some

specific ways. So far, the specific vision, however, for what the DCS is, remains fairly murky.

So joining us now to unpack, Mamdani's evolving approach to public safety

is Annie McDonough, City Hall Reporter at City and State. Hi, Andy, thanks for coming on for this.

Hi, Brian. Thanks for having me. Let me play a clip from a news conference last week. The mayor was

asked by a reporter how he proposed that the Department of Community

...