{"id":6380,"date":"2026-08-11T19:14:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T19:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6380"},"modified":"2026-08-11T19:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T19:14:38","slug":"mamdani-blames-his-staff-after-nypd-denies-nycs-first-lady-rama-duwaji-a-police-escort-to-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6380","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani blames his staff after NYPD denies NYC’s first lady Rama Duwaji a police escort to the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani threw his staff under the bus Tuesday after an awkward public disagreement between City Hall and NYPD officials over whether the department will send cops to serve as security detail for his wife Rama Duwaji\u2019s upcoming Middle East trip.<\/p>\n

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Mamdani appeared to blame a mistake by his City Hall staff after a high-profile back-and-forth with the police department.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a miscommunication. She has not yet taken that trip and when she takes that trip it will be without any NYPD detail,\u201d Mamdani told PIX11.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s clarification came after The Post reported late Monday that Duwaji \u2013 a 29-year-old Syrian-American artist described by Mamdani as a \u201cprivate person\u201d \u2013 planned to travel to Syria and Lebanon to visit family, with her police detail in tow.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the First Lady\u2019s security detail will be joining her when she travels to visit family in Syria and Lebanon,\u201d Mamdani\u2019s spokeswoman Dora Pekec had confirmed.<\/p>\n

Both countries are on the US State Department\u2019s \u201cDo Not Travel\u201d list due to security concerns.<\/p>\n

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But City Hall\u2019s assertion drew a stunning response from the NYPD \u2013 a police force headed by Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a pro-Israel moderate who hasn\u2019t been shy about her differences with the Israel critic Mamdani.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work,\u201d a department spokesperson insisted early Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not an investigative trip, and therefore, NYPD personnel will not be traveling there for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The statement completely not only undercut Pekec\u2019s assertion, but effectively amounted to NYPD officials breaking with their boss: Mamdani.<\/p>\n

When asked about the disparity, Pekec directed The Post toward Mamdani\u2019s remarks\u00a0 attributing the matter to a \u201cmiscommunication\u201d to PIX11 during an event Tuesday morning that was closed to other press.<\/p>\n

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani threw his staff under the bus over whether the NYPD will send cops to serve as security detail for Rama Duwaji\u2019s upcoming Middle East trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nMamdani blames his staff after NYPD denies NYC's first lady Rama Duwaji a police escort to the Middle East - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6380\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mamdani blames his staff after NYPD denies NYC's first lady Rama Duwaji a police escort to the Middle East - 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