Public safety experts say a proposal from mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to create a new city agency shows promise, but raises tough questions about whether it can work.

Mamdani has said he wants to launch a Department of Community Safety, funded with $600 million from existing budget allocations and $450 million in new revenue, mostly in the form of additional taxes. The department would shift mental health and homelessness calls, along with violence prevention programs, away from the NYPD.

“Police have a critical role to play,” the Democratic mayoral nominee wrote in a 17-page policy paper . “But right now, we’re relying on them to deal with our frayed social safety net, which prevents them from doing their actual jobs.”

Consolidating scattered programs

Much of Mamdani’s plan bui

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