Former NYPD chief calls police cuts 'recipe for disaster' as Mamdani threatens tax hikes

Upon entering office, Mamdani moved to cancel all orders signed by Adams after his Sept. 26, 2024, indictment, including the proposed NYPD personnel increase.

"We need about 40,000 [officers], and we're roughly close to 34,000. So, cutting back 5,000, we're probably going to lose another close to 4,000 like last year," Chell said Thursday on "Fox & Friends."

"Recipe for disaster. Public safety is the key to New York City."

Detractors say the move could squeeze middle-class homeowners - many of whom voted for Mamdani - by triggering rent hikes as landlords pass along the cost to tenants.

When Mamdani unveiled his administration's fiscal year 2027 preliminary budget on Tuesday, he laid out two paths available to the city to balance its budget in light of a $12 billion funding gap identified by his team that was whittled down to $5.4 billion after projected savings, revenue and state aid.

"So, you're gonna raise my taxes 10%, and you're going to reduce my public safety for my city. That's very appetizing for me to stay in New York City, isn't it?" Chell said.

"We can't pay for everything. Everything can't be for free. But what you need is cops out in the street. Tell me how all these programs are gonna help when you're getting robbed in the middle of the street?"

Fox News Digital's Amanda Macias and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.