Socialist mayoral frontrunner and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani — who stunned political observers by winning the Democratic nomination last month — has pledged to shut down one of the NYPD’s elite units, even as he praised first responders who raced to the scene of Monday’s deadly Park Avenue mass shooting.

“As Mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements and brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their First Amendment rights,” Mamdani wrote in December 2024, just two months after launching his mayoral campaign.

The Strategic Response Group (SRG) is a specialized NYPD division deployed for large-scale incidents, including citywide mobilizations, civil unrest, and major emergencies. According to the NYPD, SRG teams also handle violent incidents such as shootings and bank robberies — like Monday’s attack, when SRG officers were among the first to storm the Park Avenue building and secure the scene.

Mamdani, who previously called to “Defund the Police” during the 2020 George Floyd protests, has faced mounting criticism for his long history of attacks against the NYPD.

Following Monday’s massacre, which left four dead — including an off-duty police officer — Mamdani posted on social media: “I am holding the victims, their families, and the NYPD officer in critical condition in my thoughts. Grateful for all of our first responders on the ground.”

Despite his statement of gratitude, SRG officers were among those first responders who risked their lives to contain the shooter — the same unit Mamdani has vowed to dismantle if he wins City Hall.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)