They’re starting the year with a bang – and a snub.
Gun violence reached its lowest levels in New York City’s recorded history during 2025, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and newly minted Mayor Zohran Mamdani triumphantly announced Tuesday.
But the pair, along with Gov. Kathy Hochul, pointedly didn’t mention or credit now-former Mayor Eric Adams – who ultimately presided over the record-breaking drops in shootings and shooting victims.
“I want to be clear, these are not incremental gains,” Tisch said of the new NYPD data. “They are historic outcomes.”
Shootings in the city last year beat the previous record set in 2018 by 10%, with 688 total incidents, the data shows.
Police officials pointed out the total number of shootings last year were fewer than the 1,400 in Chicago and 825 in Philadelphia – both cities with fractions of the Big Apple’s population.
The number of shooting victims – 856 – also dropped 5%, below 2018’s record, according to the data.
The decline was even more pronounced compared to 2024, which saw 247 more people – or 22% more – struck by bullets, the data shows.
The December closing 2025 ended up with the fewest shootings in any single month since the NYPD began tracking crime statistics, as well as the lowest victim tally, officials said.
“Compared to 2021, 1,021 fewer people were shot in New York City in 2025,” Tisch said.
“Those historic reductions in shooting incidents and victims weren’t confined to a single part of the city – they were reflected across all five boroughs.”
Tisch also highlighted drops in transit crime, making 2025 the safest in the subway system in 16 years, outside of the COVID pandemic.
The 2025 crime numbers continued a sustained citywide drop after a worrisome COVID-era jump.
The decline had proved a bright spot for the final year of Adams’ scandal-plagued tenure as mayor.
The gains had also forced Mamdani during the mayoral election to repeatedly reassure New Yorkers that he wouldn’t squander them, especially in light of his past cop-bashing remarks.
Mamdani ultimately decided to keep Tisch as commissioner, despite their many policy differences.
The pair didn’t evoke Adams’ name, although they both credited crime-fighting strategies crafted during his administration.
“These are numbers and accomplishments to be celebrated, and as the commissioner said, they are also ones to be built on, because we will not rest until we make this the safest city it can be,” Mamdani said.
Tisch said she’ll meet with Mamdani on strategies, but didn’t think any changes were in store.
“We’re always going to look for ways to sharpen and refine,” she said. “But I think it’s very clear that our approach in particular to violent crime in New York City, and to subway crime in New York City has led to historic results and I don’t have any changes on the top of my head that I could think of to it at this time.”
Last year saw a 4% drop in major subway crime compared to 2024, with robberies down 12.5% and shootings falling 62.5%, the data shows.
Overall, nearly every major felony fell last year, led by a 20% drop in murder, according to the data.
Rape incidents, however, rose 16% – an increase that Tisch attributed to a change in the crime’s legal definition. Likewise, felony assaults ticked up a slight 0.4%, the data shows.
– Additional reporting by Joe Marino
