‘Unacceptable’: Mamdani Condemns Super Speeder Cop, But Won’t Commit to Action

Mayor Mamdani condemned Staten Island NYPD officer James Giovansanti’s 547 speed- and red-light camera tickets as “unacceptable” on Friday, but stopped short of committing to discipline the lead-footed lawman in his first comments since Streetsblog exposed Giovansanti’s record.

“That behavior is unacceptable, and I say that because everyone, including those in law enforcement, must follow traffic laws across our city,” Mamdani told Streetsblog at an unrelated press conference on Brooklyn.

But Hizzoner played cat-and-mouse about what he plans to do about a driver on his payroll who endangers the residents of Staten Island so wantonly.

Streetsblog had pressed the mayor on whether Giovansanti should face official NYPD discipline for his actions.

“We are going to continue to have a conversation internally around what it looks like to follow through on that,” he said.

“What I will say is that I do have an expectation that everyone employed by the city sets an example for what it looks like to act responsibly in consideration with the safety of other viewers.”

Giovansanti’s 4,800-pound RAM 1500 truck received 187 camera-issued tickets in 2025 — an average of one every other day.

He is the exact type of driver advocates and lawmakers hope to rein in with the “Stop Super Speeders Act,” a pending bill in Albany that would force the worst repeat speeders to install a speed limiter in their vehicles.

Mamdani’s Department of Transportation supports the bill, but the mayor himself has not commented on it since taking office.

Asked on Friday whether he’d spoken to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch about Giovansanti’s driving, Mamdani replied, “This is part of a larger conversation.”

The new mayor previously deferred to vague “conversations” when pressed on issues that may put him in conflict with Tisch and the NYPD.

In January, as the NYPD’s criminal crackdown on cyclists continued on Mamdani’s watch despite his campaign pledge to end it, Hizzoner said he was having “conversations” with Tisch about the policy — which his administration ultimately ended in late March.

NYPD has yet to comment on Streetsblog’s reporting.

With David Meyer and J.K. Trotter

Following publication of this story, Streetsblog readers demanded, and the Editorial Board concurred, that the Mamdani-O-Meter must be reset to zero due to the mayor’s inaction and deflection regarding the public safety threat represented by James Giovansanti.