NYC to add more cops with funds previously earmarked for immigrant crisis

Within a year, there will be more than 1,500 new members of New York's Finest, thanks to an influx in funds that were previously intended to address the immigrant crisis, the New York Post reported.

The next two classes of NYPD officers — set to graduate in January and April 2025, respectively — had been nixed last year amid major budget cuts meant to help address the hordes of illegal immigrants pouring into the city.

Now, with more than $100 million restored to NYPD coffers, those two classes have been reinstated, meaning that 1,600 rookie cops will be out on the streets by next October, according to the Post, citing sources in City Hall.

'We're making even MORE investments to public safety, affordability, and livability for working-class New Yorkers.'

On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams (D) basically confirmed that report during a press conference to discuss the new budget cycle.

"The November plan adds two police academy classes, which will put 1,600 new officers on our streets by October 2025, increasing our uniformed force to nearly 34,000, getting back and reaching our goal of 35,000 officers patrolling our streets," Adams said at the press conference.

"That's a lot of officers," he continued, "who alongside all the civilian employees of the NYPD work day in and day out to keep us safe."

The X post with a livestream of the press conference included the message: "We're making even MORE investments to public safety, affordability, and livability for working-class New Yorkers."

During the press conference, Adams celebrated the reduced cost of addressing the immigrant crisis. According to a press release from his office, the city will save nearly $500 million over the next two fiscal years "primarily due to lower-than-expected number of asylum seekers entering the city's care since July 2024."

Earlier this month — just days after President-elect Donald Trump soundly defeated Kamala Harris, largely on account of the border crisis — New York City decided to end a program which provided thousands of immigrants living at the Roosevelt Hotel with prepaid debit cards in lieu of boxed meals. One of the main reasons cited for ending the program was the dwindling number of new arrivals.

Likewise during the press conference on Wednesday, Adams announced the appointment of Jessica Tisch as the new NYPD commissioner and referenced an officer who was shot in Queens on Tuesday night.

Officer Rich Wong, a seven-year veteran of the force, was wounded during a shootout with a violent suspect who had reportedly committed several armed robberies in the Queens neighborhood of Jamaica. During the shootout, the suspect, 57-year-old Gary Worthy, managed to shoot Wong in the thigh. Wong returned fire, fatally striking Worthy in the face.

Thankfully, Wong has already been discharged from the hospital. An innocent bystander was also wounded in the incident but is expected to survive, the Post reported.

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