The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, municipal police departments in the United States.
The New York City police commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department as well as the appointment of deputies including the Chief of Department and subordinate officers. Commissioners are civilian administrators, and they and their subordinate deputies are civilians under an oath of office, not sworn members of the force. This is a separate position from the chief of department, who is the senior sworn uniformed member of the force. The first deputy commissioner is the commissioner and department's second-in-command. The office of the police commissioner is located at the NYPD Headquarters, One Police Plaza. Both the commissioner and first deputy commissioner outrank all uniformed officers, including the chief of department.
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) is the largest police union representing police officers of the New York City Police Department. It represents about 24,000 of the department's 36,000 officers.
The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal. The DSNY is the primary operator of the New York City waste management system.
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for developing and maintaining the city's stock of affordable housing. Its regulations are compiled in title 28 of the New York City Rules. The Department is headed by a Commissioner, who is appointed by and reports directly to the Mayor. The current Commissioner of HPD is Adolfo Carrión Jr. appointed in January, 2022 by Mayor Eric Adams replacing Louise Carroll, who was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in May 2019. Other former Commissioners have included Maria Torres-Springer, Vicki Been, Jerilyn Perine, Richard Roberts and Shaun Donovan, among others. HPD is headquartered in Lower Manhattan, and includes smaller branch offices in each of the city's five boroughs.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is structured into numerous bureaus and units. As a whole, the NYPD is headed by the Police Commissioner, a civilian administrator appointed by the Mayor, with the senior sworn uniformed officer of the service titled "Chief of Department". The Police Commissioner appoints the First Deputy Commissioner as the department's second-in-command and the Chief of Department as the department's highest ranking uniformed officer. The commissioner also appoints a number of deputy and assistant commissioners who do not have operational command and are solely for support and administrative function. The department is divided into twenty bureaus, six of which are enforcement bureaus. Each enforcement bureau is further subdivided into sections, divisions, and units, and into patrol boroughs, precincts, and detective squads. Each bureau is commanded by a bureau chief. There are also a number of specialized units that are not part of any of the bureaus and report to the Chief of the Department.
The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) is a department of the New York City government tasked with recruiting, hiring, and training City employees, managing 55 public buildings, acquiring, selling, and leasing City property, purchasing over $1 billion in goods and services for City agencies, overseeing the greenest municipal vehicle fleet in the country, and leading the City's efforts to reduce carbon emissions from government operations among other things.
The Domain Awareness System, the largest digital surveillance system in the world, is part of the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative in partnership between the New York Police Department and Microsoft to monitor New York City. It allows the NYPD to track surveillance targets and gain detailed information about them, and is overseen by the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau.
Philip Banks III is the former Deputy Mayor of New York City for Public Safety and a retired law enforcement officer who served as NYPD chief of department in 2013 and 2014. As Chief of Department, Banks oversaw all patrol and specialty units. He resigned in the midst of the investigations into the Eric Adams administration.
Merryl H. Tisch is the former Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents and wife of James S. Tisch, an heir to the Loews Corporation. In November 2015, she stepped down from her role after nearly 20 years on the board.
Rafael Piñeiro is the former First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and at that time the highest ranking Hispanic American member of the NYPD. In November 2013, he was rumored to be on Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's short list to replace Ray Kelly as NYPD Commissioner.
James Patrick "Jimmy" O'Neill Jr. is an American police officer who served as the 43rd Police Commissioner of New York City from September 2016 until November 2019. Prior to his appointment as Police Commissioner, O'Neill served as NYPD's Chief of Department, the highest uniformed position in the department, in 2014–2016.
The Business Integrity Commission (BIC) is the agency of the New York City government responsible for regulating the private carting industry, public wholesale markets businesses, and the shipboard gambling industry. Its purpose is to combat corruption in these industries from organized crime, and was created from the 2001 Organized Crime Control Commission, itself created from the 1996 Trade Waste Commission, the Markets Division in the Small Business Services Department, and the Gambling Commission.
Dermot Francis Shea is a retired American police officer who was the 44th New York City Police Commissioner. He assumed the position on December 1, 2019, and was sworn in by Mayor Bill de Blasio in a public ceremony on December 2.
Oxiris Barbot is an American pediatrician who served as the Commissioner of Health of the City of New York from 2018 to 2020. She was then appointed to public health positions with Columbia University and the JPB Foundation, and in 2022 became president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit United Hospital Fund.
Kathryn A. Garcia is an American public official serving as Director of State Operations for the state of New York. She served as commissioner for the New York City Sanitation Department from 2014 to 2020 and was a candidate in the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, losing by 0.8 percentage points to Eric Adams.
Keechant L. Sewell is an American baseball executive and former police officer and administrator. Sewell is currently the New York Mets Senior Vice President of Security and Guest Experience. She previously served as the 45th New York City Police Commissioner, the first woman and third black person to serve in the position. On June 12, 2023, Sewell announced that she was stepping down as commissioner. No reason was given for her departure.
Maria Torres-Springer is an American government official and former nonprofit executive who is the First Deputy Mayor of New York City, assuming office on October 8, 2024. Previously the vice president for U.S. programs at the Ford Foundation, Torres-Springer has been New York City's Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce; Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services; and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. She was also the president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Torres-Springer is the first Filipina to serve as First Deputy Mayor of New York City.
Edward A. Caban is an American police officer who served as the New York City Police Commissioner from 2023 to 2024, having been appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, and resigning amidst federal corruption investigations into the Eric Adams administration. He was the first Latino to serve as Commissioner of the NYPD.
John M. Chell is an American law enforcement officer currently serving as the chief of department for the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the highest-ranking uniformed position in the department since 2024. He has held various leadership roles within the NYPD, including chief of patrol, and has been involved in public safety operations, media relations, and departmental controversies.
