The election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani to the office of mayor of New York City is already beginning to have negative impacts on the Big Apple, despite Mamdani not officially taking office until January. The city’s Fire Commissioner, Robert Tucker, announced on Wednesday, November 26, that he would be stepping down from his position due to Mamdani’s victory in the mayoral race.
Tucker, who has a well-earned reputation for being a Jewish philanthropist and businessman, will be resigning from his post on December 19. Tucker served in the role for only 12 months, according to sources close to the situation. The fire commissioner will then resume his work with T&M, his private security firm, which he led before joining the administration of the current mayor, Eric Adams.
The news of Tucker’s resignation was revealed just a few hours before he was due to take a scheduled trip to Israel, where he was going to hold a meeting with one of the country’s fire commissioners. As of this writing, Tucker has not provided an official reason for the resignation; however, many are speculating it is directly connected to Mamdani’s election victory.
According to Trending Politics News, Tucker took up the position as the FDNY’s 35th commissioner in August 2024. He replaced former commissioner Laura Kavanagh, whose time in office was marked by a number of controversies. Adams heaped praise on Tucker at the time he was appointed to the position.
“Commissioner Tucker brings decades of experience in protecting public safety to this role, as well as strong personal ties to the FDNY,” Adams said in a statement released in 2024. Tucker created his private security firm in 1999. Before getting involved in security work, he served as a special assistant to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Tucker, well known for his charity work, served as the secretary for the FDNY Foundation. He’s received a number of honors from the New York Board of Rabbis and from the Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.
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Jewish groups in the Big Apple have made it abundantly clear they have a number of issues with Mamdani, especially his support for radical elements within the Pro-Palestine movement. Time and again, Mamdani has referred to Israeli operations in Gaza as “genocide,” even promising that he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he should ever visit New York City on United Nations business or any other matters.
Mamdani has been raked over the coals for his connections with associations that promote antisemitic slogans such as “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which many associate with the calling of ethnic cleansing of the Jewish people. Mamdani has attempted to save face by condemning the October 7 attacks by Palestinian terrorists as a “war crime,” and stating his criticisms are not of the Jewish people as a whole, but the Israeli government.
The controversial political figure, who was photographed linking arms with an imam who is notorious for supporting the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 which resulted in the deaths of 3,000 people, is set to take office on January 1, 2026.