Overview
- The pair took their oaths at One Police Plaza as Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and hundreds of police and faith leaders looked on.
- As co‑chiefs, they will oversee the Chaplains Unit, reported as 11 clergy, which provides confidential counseling, spiritual assistance and moral guidance to department members.
- Their roles succeed those of Rabbi Alvin Kass, the NYPD’s longtime spiritual anchor who died in 2025 after nearly six decades of service.
- Cardinal Timothy Dolan recently retired as Archbishop of New York and was succeeded by Archbishop Ronald Hicks, while Rev. A.R. Bernard leads Brooklyn’s Christian Cultural Center with tens of thousands of congregants.
- Dolan and Bernard emphasized moral support as central to policing in remarks at the ceremony, which also featured a cordial exchange between Dolan and the mayor after Dolan’s earlier complaint about missed invitations.