By: Jordan Baker

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said he plans to aggressively target crime in New York City’s housing projects — and has already cautioned Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani against weakening the NYPD’s proactive policing strategies, the New York Post reported.

Clayton, appointed by President Trump, explained that federal prosecutors are taking a larger role in combating local crime because tough federal statutes often create better odds of keeping violent offenders off the streets. During an interview on 77 WABC’s “Cats Roundtable,” he said his office has been embedding federal attorneys in precincts with the highest concentration of gun violence. When possible, he said, suspects are charged federally because the likelihood of pretrial detention and longer sentences is significantly higher — something he insisted “New Yorkers want,” according to the New York Post.

Clayton emphasized that he personally urged Mamdani to allow the NYPD to continue its “preventive policing,” including the work of specialized units such as the Strategic Response Group — the division responsible for counterterror efforts, riot response, and major protests. Mamdani has publicly called for the SRG to be disbanded, but Clayton argued that dismantling such units would be a “huge mistake,” the New York Post reported.

Calling the NYPD “the greatest police department in the world,” Clayton insisted its forward-leaning approach has kept New York safer than other major cities. “You’re not treating people better by pulling back on the police,” he warned. “You actually create more violent scenarios for everyone,” the Post noted.

Clayton also highlighted federal efforts to shut down open-air drug markets, pointing to his office’s recent sweep of Washington Square Park that led to charges against 19 suspected drug dealers. He credited the NYPD and DEA for helping restore safety there, saying the park is “now a park and not a drug den,” according to the New York Post. Residents and officials have raised alarms about other hot spots, including The Hub in the South Bronx and areas of East Harlem. Clayton said federal teams are actively assessing other trouble zones — from parks to public housing complexes — where similar cleanup operations may be needed.

Beyond gun violence and narcotics, Clayton said his office is zeroing in on corruption within the New York City Housing Authority. He noted that roughly 70 NYCHA workers charged last year in a sprawling bribery and extortion operation have either been convicted or pleaded guilty — a bust the Post described as the largest single-day bribery takedown in DOJ history.

Clayton further criticized what he called a “junk justice” environment in New York, citing cashless bail policies, lenient judges and district attorneys who routinely release offenders back into communities. Light sentences, he argued, give violent criminals little incentive to cooperate with investigators. Longer federal penalties, he said, help dismantle larger criminal networks — a key reason he insists on federal intervention.

He urged New Yorkers to demand judges and elected officials who prioritize public safety, adding that the city cannot afford a return to the violence of the 1970s.