Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday blamed what he described as a “miscommunication” after the NYPD publicly contradicted City Hall’s claim that his wife, Rama Duwaji, would be accompanied by a taxpayer-funded police security detail during her upcoming trip to Syria and Lebanon.
The dispute unfolded after City Hall reversed course on the planned security arrangements. Mamdani ultimately stated that Duwaji will travel next month without NYPD protection, despite a senior spokesperson for his administration saying just one day earlier that officers would accompany her.
Addressing the controversy, Mamdani acknowledged that the earlier announcement had been incorrect.
“There was a miscommunication. She has not yet taken that trip and when she takes that trip it will be without any NYPD detail,” Mamdani told PIX11 when asked about the New York Post’s report.
The controversy began after a source familiar with the matter said Duwaji—whom Mamdani has repeatedly described as a “private person”—had requested an NYPD security detail for the trip. City Hall had initially confirmed that request.
“Upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the first lady’s security detail will be joining her when she travels to visit family in Syria and Lebanon,” mayoral spokeswoman Dora Pekec said.
That statement was quickly contradicted by the NYPD, which made clear that the department does not assign officers to accompany personal overseas travel to countries under the highest US travel warning.
“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work,” a department spokesperson insisted.
“This is not an investigative trip, and therefore, NYPD personnel will not be traveling there for it.”
The department’s response directly contradicted City Hall’s earlier announcement and amounted to a rare public disagreement between the mayor’s office and the NYPD.
One source familiar with the episode said the confusion resulted from a breakdown in communication.
“They never checked with the commissioner.”
When questioned about the conflicting statements, Pekec referred reporters to Mamdani’s explanation that the issue stemmed from a “miscommunication” and declined further comment.
City Hall also declined to provide additional information about Duwaji’s Sept. 20 trip or clarify whether the purpose of the visit is limited to seeing family.
A source familiar with the plans said the trip has no official government purpose.
“It’s not official business. It’s not doing anything for the city.”
Both Syria and Lebanon are currently listed by the US State Department under its highest-level “Do Not Travel” advisory because of ongoing security concerns.
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said deploying city police officers to those countries for a personal trip would have been a poor decision.
He described such an assignment as “ill-advised,” adding that it would be costly and require extensive coordination with federal authorities.
“There would be lots of hoops you’d have to go through for that kind of assignment,” he said.
Bratton also said the public contradiction between City Hall and the Police Department should never have occurred.
“You’re going to have to clear up the confusion,” he said.
David Catalfamo, who served as communications director for former New York Gov. George Pataki, said the mayor’s office should defer to law enforcement on security matters and improve communication with the NYPD.
“I suspect communication between the mayor’s office and the police department will be better in the future,” Catalfamo said. “The political folks want to run ahead of the story. It doesn’t work that way when it comes to security.
“The NYPD wants to be there to protect the mayor and his family — but there are limits. Going to Syria and Lebanon is not like buying a ticket on Amtrak.”
Duwaji, a 29-year-old Syrian-American artist, traveled abroad last month without police protection. During that trip, she co-hosted a pro-Palestinian women’s spiritual retreat in Corsica and later served as the “artist-in-residence” at a sold-out “Plants Of The Quran” workshop in Mallorca, Spain. Both events were organized by Women Sanctuary, a travel organization focused on Muslim women.
The episode also highlighted continuing tensions between Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who has not concealed her policy disagreements with the mayor, particularly regarding Israel and public safety.
Tisch entered the administration while openly acknowledging her differences with Mamdani. Within days of his taking office, she reportedly confronted City Hall over what she viewed as the mayor’s slow response to two police shootings.
The two have also publicly diverged on other issues, including Mamdani’s characterization of an incident in which a crowd pelted police officers with snowballs, describing it as simply a “snowball fight that got out of hand.”
Despite those disagreements, Mamdani and Tisch have continued working together, with the mayor frequently highlighting reductions in crime and appearing alongside the police commissioner at public events.
