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On Fox News Live on January 1, 2026, Seattle radio host Jason Rantz sparred with former Biden adviser Meghan Hays over the future of public safety in New York City now that Zohran Mamdani has been sworn in as mayor. The exchange captured a real concern for everyday New Yorkers: can a newly inaugurated leader deliver safety while pursuing an ambitious progressive agenda?
Rantz bluntly insisted that it is critical for a mayor to maintain a strong working relationship with police officers if the city expects cops to protect its residents, a point he made forcefully against a backdrop of warm words from the left about new community response teams. That is commonsense, not partisanship — when leaders alienate law enforcement, morale drops, and criminals notice who won’t be punished.
Meanwhile, Mayor Mamdani used his inauguration to promise sweeping changes: fare-free buses, universal childcare, and a shift toward community-based crisis response that he says will reduce reliance on the NYPD. Those ideas may sound compassionate to progressives, but rolling out such programs overnight creates real risk unless public safety remains the first priority and violent crime gets a clear, enforceable strategy.
Conservative critics are right to worry that rhetoric and policy choices could signal a downgrade in the city’s relationship with its police — and that worry isn’t theoretical. Business leaders and seasoned public-safety officials have already expressed skepticism about whether these untested models can replace boots-on-the-ground policing without a spike in victimization. New Yorkers who work hard and pay taxes deserve results, not experiments.
Jason Rantz’s message to fellow Americans is plain: demand competence, not ideology. If Mayor Mamdani truly wants safer streets, he should show he values police as partners and ensure any new programs are proven, well-funded, and implemented without compromise to frontline safety. Voters won’t be fooled by slogans when they are the ones risking their families on bad policy.
This debate goes beyond New York — it’s about whether our cities will respect law and order or bow to experimental social engineering that puts idealism ahead of everyday security. Conservatives will keep pressing for accountability, more support for law enforcement, and policies that put citizens first, because freedom and prosperity depend on safety. The mayor has been sworn in; now he will be judged on whether his actions protect the hardworking people who keep this city running.
