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NYC had record-low shootings, 20% drop in homicides in 2025, Mamdani and Tisch say
By
Charles Lane
and
Paige Oamek
Published Jan 6, 2026
Modified Jan 6, 2026
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Richard Drew / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
By
Charles Lane
and
Paige Oamek
Published Jan 6, 2026
Modified Jan 6, 2026
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New York City had its safest year ever for gun violence in 2025, which had the fewest shootings and shooting victims in the city’s recorded history, the NYPD announced Tuesday.
The city recorded 688 shooting incidents last year, 10% below the previous record in 2018 and a 24% decline from 2024, officials said. The number of people shot also reached a historic low: 856, or nearly 5% less than the 2018 record and 247 fewer people than in 2024.
“Each of those percentage points adds up to dining-room tables without an empty seat, lives free from the dark cloud of grief, children that grow up with a parent at home,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference detailing the numbers.
The city had 35 shootings in December, the fewest ever recorded in a single month, according to the NYPD. Meanwhile, homicides decreased 20% between 2024 and 2025, to 305, and robberies dropped nearly 10%, with 1,600 fewer incidents.
Officials said the transit system also had significant improvements, as major crime on the subways fell 4% and transit robberies reached record lows. The Mamdani administration called 2025 the “safest year on the subways since 2009,” excluding the pandemic years when ridership nosedived.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch credited the drop to the department's "deliberate, data-driven strategy" over the last year. Although national crime numbers are also down, Gothamist reported last week that New York City has had significantly fewer total shootings than American cities a fraction of its size.
“We see the headlines and we hear the pundits talk about crime being out of control in our city," Tisch said during the press conference. "These numbers tell a very different story.”
Tisch described the NYPD's "precision policing strategy,” which deployed thousands of officers to high-crime areas and nightly foot posts across precincts, public housing and the subway system. She also touted police efforts to remove thousands of guns off the streets.
The commissioner said her approach to violent crime and quality-of-life policing would continue under Mamdani.
“At this time, there is no change planned to the crime-fighting strategy that has delivered historic results,” she said.
Still, the end-of-year statistics highlighted some ongoing challenges with public safety.
Felony assaults ticked up slightly over 2024, driven largely by domestic violence and assaults on public employees, officials said.
And youth violence continued to rise as a share of overall violent crime, with both victims and perpetrators under 18 reaching their highest percentages since tracking began in 2018. Tisch and Mamdani said they would take a "whole-of-government approach" to tackle youth crime.
“We cannot rest on these results, we have to build on these results,” Mamdani said. He added that he intends to move forward with a new Department of Community Safety to address mental health and homelessness issues so that police can focus on violent crime.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tagged
Zohran Mamdani
new york city
public safety
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Paige Oamek
Paige Oamek is a reporter on Gothamist & WNYC's day-of general assignment desk.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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