New York City Mayor Eric Adams has demanded that Columbia University and other private colleges contribute to the cost of the New York Police Department's (NYPD) crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses. The mayor's call comes in the wake of a massive police operation that resulted in the arrest of nearly 300 demonstrators at Columbia University and the City College of New York (CCNY).
Speaking to FOX5 on Thursday, Mayor Adams emphasized the need for a "zero tolerance" approach to prevent the escalation of protests and the associated costs. "We believe that they, too, should contribute to the cost," he said, referring to the Ivy League school. "One way to prevent the costs from escalating is to have a zero tolerance. As soon as the tents go up, it comes down. Do not allow this to continue to expand."
The NYPD's intervention at Columbia University involved dramatic scenes, with scores of officers entering the historic Hamilton Hall academic building through second-floor windows using a ramp, after protesters had sealed themselves inside. At CCNY, police clashed with unruly demonstrators in violent confrontations. In total, more than 280 anti-Israel protesters were arrested in what the mayor described as a "massive" NYPD operation.
Mayor Adams praised Fordham University's swift handling of its own protests, commending the institution's president for taking immediate action to prevent the situation from escalating. In contrast, he criticized Columbia University for allowing the protests to persist for nearly two weeks before requesting police assistance.
The mayor's call for private colleges to bear the costs of the police response has been echoed by a bipartisan group of New York City politicians. In a scathing letter to Columbia University officials, nine council members, led by Queens Republican Joann Ariola, Minority Leader Joe Borelli, and Queen Democrat Bob Holden, wrote, "Columbia created this mess and Columbia - not New Yorkers - should pay to clean it up."
The lawmakers argued that the city has more pressing issues to address than "babysitting spoiled students, activist professors, and professional protestors on an Ivy League campus." They suggested that if the university wants city-paid officers to maintain a presence on campus, they should contact the NYPD's paid details unit, which specializes in providing security for private places. "You certainly can afford it," the letter added, citing Columbia's tuition costs of more than $68,000 a year and its $13.6 billion endowment.
Mayor Adams has blamed the escalation of the protests on a "movement to radicalize young people," suggesting that "outside agitators" were responsible for leading the demonstrators. "This is a global problem that young people are being influenced by those who are professionals at radicalizing our children," he said during a news conference on Wednesday.
Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik called in the NYPD after two weeks of talks with protesters failed to resolve the situation. In a letter to the police, she described the occupation of Hamilton Hall as a "drastic escalation" that posed a "clear and present danger to persons, property, and the substantial functioning of the University."
However, the decision to involve the police has divided the student body at Columbia. While some students felt that the show of force was unnecessary and expressed horror at the university's actions, others believed that the administration should have acted sooner to prevent the situation from escalating.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations' New York chapter (CAIR-NY) has denounced the decision to bring in the police, with Executive Director Afaf Nasher stating, "It is sad but not surprising that Columbia University and CCNY officials would rather unleash the NYPD on their own students than simply meet their demand to divest from the Israeli government and its genocide in Gaza."
