You are reading

Mayor-Elect Eric Adams Names Queens Native as City’s Next, and First Female, NYPD Commissioner

Keechant Sewell (Nassau County Police Department)

Dec. 15, 2021 By Allie Griffin

Mayor-elect Eric Adams has named a Queens native as the city’s first female NYPD Commissioner.

Adams announced Wednesday that Keechant Sewell, the Nassau County chief of detectives, will become the top cop of the country’s largest police force next month.

“I’m proud to tell you personally that the 45th police commissioner of the city of New York will be Keechant Sewell,” Adams said in a video statement.

“She’s a native of our city from the great borough of Queens,” he added.

Sewell, 49, was born and raised in the Queensbridge Houses — the largest public housing development in the nation — in Long Island City. She later moved to Corona and then Jamaica as a child and now lives on Long Island, according to the New York Post, which was the first to report on her appointment.

She is a 22-year-veteran of the Nassau County police department and was promoted to chief of detectives last year. She has also led the major case bureau and the professional standards bureau and has worked as an internal affairs investigator as well as the lead hostage negotiator among other jobs.

Adams said he searched for a new commissioner all over the country and had long aspired to appoint a woman for the top position.

“To lead this department into the next chapter of our shared history, I conducted a nationwide search of some of this country’s brightest talents,” he said.

Sewell will take over the job from another Queens native, current NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, who became commissioner in December 2019. Shea, who was born and raised in Sunnyside, plans to retire from the NYPD at the end of the year.

She will take the reins of the department of 35,000 officers — more than 10 times the size of Nassau county’s 2,400-officer department, according to the New York Times — at a difficult time. Distrust of police officers escalated in the summer of 2020, and racial tensions among officers and the Black community remain high. Furthermore, shootings and murders are up significantly from pre-pandemic levels.

Adams, a former NYPD officer himself, ran and won on a campaign of combating the rise in violence in the city.

He said he believes Sewell is the right person to take on the difficult job of tackling both police abuse and violent crime.

“She not only brings a diverse set of experiences to this moment, but the emotional intelligence needed to lead at this challenging but hopeful time in our city,” Adams said.

With Adams’ latest appointment, many of the city’s top jobs will be held by people who were raised in Queens in the new year. The mayor-elect grew up in South Jamaica and his pick for NYC schools chancellor, David Banks, spent much of his youth in southeast Queens.

The next city council speaker is also all but certain to be a Queens native.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Celebrate the season: a guide to fall events at Queens Botanical Garden

Sep. 18, 2025 By Jessica Militello

There is nothing quite like witnessing the beauty of fall amongst the plants and wildlife at the Queens Botanical Garden. The 47-acre sanctuary offers a tranquil respite from the city, including an array of classes, events and workshops to learn more about nature and connect with the community. The garden has a variety of exciting events and programs to fully immerse oneself in the autumn season, from their Apples and Honey Day Festival to kids’ programs and much more. Whether you are looking to volunteer or tap into your creativity, here is a list of upcoming events.

CM Julie Won vows to vote against OneLIC Neighborhood Plan if neighborhood priorities are not included

Sep. 18, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

Council Member Julie Won has once again outlined that she will vote against the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan unless the comprehensive neighborhood rezoning includes specific community guarantees — including a commitment to provide deeply affordable housing, over 1,300 new school seats, a substantial increase in open space, and a comprehensive plan to improve resiliency in the neighborhood.

Suspect sought in Kew Gardens jewel heist at private residence near Forest Park: NYPD

Police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill are looking for a bearded burglar who was captured on video surveillance pulling off a jewel heist at a Kew Gardens home four blocks east of Forest Park late last month.

The suspect was seen walking on 84th Street near 118th Street at around 4:45 a.m. when he unlawfully entered a private residence through a rear door. Once inside, the suspect went into a bedroom and removed a black box, which contained jewelry valued at approximately $1,950, police said. The stranger left the home and ran off southbound on 118th Street toward Bessemer Street in Richmond Hill. There were no injuries reported after the jewel heist.

Suspect wanted for allegedly groping three women as they walked to work in Corona: NYPD

Police from the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights are looking for a serial groper who targeted three women in 20 minutes on Monday, Sept. 1, in Corona.

The first incident occurred at around 5:55 a.m. as a 37-year-old victim was walking to work near the intersection of 103rd Street and 37th Avenue when a stranger approached her from behind and allegedly grabbed her buttocks before running off westbound on 37th Avenue toward 102nd Street.