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CBS News even recognized her influence, calling her the “chief architect” of this radical plan.² She says she consulted mental health professionals and local officials while developing the system.³ But one group she did not consult is the group that deals with violence, unpredictability, and criminal threat every day: the NYPD.
Her background makes the situation even more concerning. Bisgaard Church grew up in California, graduated from elite institutions like Swarthmore and Columbia, and then dove into New York politics⁴ despite having no experience leading major campaigns before joining Mamdani. Yet she believes she is qualified to redesign the future of public safety in America’s largest city.
Other Cities Tried These “Alternatives” And The Results Tell A Different Story
Proponents of these social worker response programs love to wave around examples from cities like Denver, Eugene, and Albuquerque. What they fail to mention is how limited these programs truly are.
Many of these cities divert just a tiny fraction of calls away from police. Some handle less than five percent.⁵ When Albuquerque created its Community Safety Department, the numbers barely budged. Two years later, the department managed only about five percent of total calls.⁶
Eugene’s CAHOOTS system, which activists constantly praise, operates in a small city that is more than eighty percent white and historically cooperative with police.⁷ Trying to drop that same model into New York City’s dense, diverse, high crime neighborhoods would be like replacing a fire hose with a garden sprinkler.
Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith captured the problem perfectly. “It is irresponsible to send untrained, unarmed social workers out to deal with volatile and potentially violent individuals.”⁸ He added, “no call is ever ‘routine’”.
Officers know this better than anyone. A call that sounds harmless on the radio can turn lethal in seconds. Mental health crises, drug fueled outbursts, and domestic disputes are some of the most unpredictable and dangerous situations officers face, yet these are the exact calls activists want social workers to handle.
The Deepening Ties Between This Agenda And The DSA
None of this should surprise anyone who has followed Bisgaard Church’s political connections. She is a committed member of the Democratic Socialists of America and held weekly meetings with NYC DSA leaders throughout Mamdani’s campaign.⁹ She even helped design the DSA’s legislative analysis team and drafted a document in 2021 outlining how the organization should influence elected officials.¹⁰
Her influence inside the movement is enormous. NYC DSA co chairman Gustavo Gordillo stated that her “influence cannot be overstated” and called her “the brains of the campaign.”¹¹
In an interview with City and State, she explained what drives her worldview. “I still feel daily, deeply ashamed to live in a place where we allow people to sleep on concrete at night.”¹² Compassion is one thing. Spending over a billion dollars on an experiment that places social workers and the general public in harm’s way is something else entirely.
The NYPD Is Already Bracing For Impact
New York’s public safety infrastructure is already wobbling. Right after Mamdani’s win, the NYPD Fire Chief stepped down. Veteran officers are expected to retire early or flee the department altogether as the administration presses ahead with its ideological agenda.
Bisgaard Church told reporters she is ready to “roll up her sleeves” and show “what a well run City Hall can do for everyday New Yorkers.”¹³ Her version of well run appears to be a sweeping public safety overhaul that would leave unarmed civilians responding to volatile scenes with nothing to protect them but good intentions.
This raises a crucial question. Who decides which 911 calls qualify as safe enough for unarmed staff to respond to? Even a small misjudgment can lead to tragedy. If a social worker walks into a situation that suddenly turns violent, who is responsible? And how long will it take for police to arrive once everything falls apart?
Chicago’s CARE teams tried a similar concept. One example involved a homeless man who set a fire that “got out of control.”¹⁴ That situation hardly fits the activists’ favorite label of “non violent.”
As police staffing numbers fall, the inevitable mission creep will follow. Politicians will expand the types of calls sent to social worker teams. The line separating low risk from high risk will blur. Sooner or later, someone will get seriously hurt. When that day comes, the political class will offer thoughts and prayers while the public pays the price.
What New Yorkers Voted For Is Now Becoming Reality
This is not reform. It is not innovation. It is a political project built by activists who believe ideology matters more than experience, safety, or common sense.
New Yorkers voted for this experiment and now they will have to live with the outcome. The next four years will reveal whether the city learned anything from past mistakes or whether it is about to repeat them on a much larger scale.
