NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday declined to say whether he supports the NYPD’s use of stingray devices that track cellphones — even as the department utilizes them and is moving forward with a procurement process to operate more.

The Mamdani administration no longer plans to enter into a no-bid contract with a controversial Israeli tech company for a technology that can quickly pinpoint a suspect’s cellphone — coming after the mayor got intense pushback from allies and advocates. But the police department will still a pursue competitive procurement process for the same type of technology, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The NYPD already uses other cell-site simulators to track down suspects as well as people who are missing or suicidal.

“As with any technology that we procure, it should be one that always ensures that it’s protecting the fundamental rights of New Yorkers while also serving the interests of public safety,” Mamdani said of the administration’s pursuit of the technology at a press conference on Thursday.

But pressed on whether he supports the police department’s use of cell tower simulators, known as stingray devices, Mamdani dodged: “No, I said I’ll get back to you on that,” he said, referring to a bill introduced by his close ally and friend State Sen. Jabari Brisport that would ban the devices.

A spokesperson for Mamdani did not clarify the mayor’s stance.

Mamdani added that he opposes the “kind of surveillance that has no actual connection to public safety,” specifically calling out the mass surveillance of Muslim New Yorkers after 9/11.

Advocates have warned that cell-site simulators could be used to unconstitutionally track people not being sought out by law enforcement.

Aber Kawas, the presumptive state senator candidates in Queens and an ally of Mamdani, bashed the surveillance decision on Wednesday.

“This powerful tool violates the rights of all New Yorkers, giving the police greater ability to track our phones and access sensitive data with little transparency or oversight,” Kawas said. “However, this is about more than just one company or contract. The NYPD has a long history of mass surveillance of Muslim communities, Palestine solidarity activists, and communities of color, and police departments across the state are sharing AI surveillance data with ICE to aid in the deportation of our immigrant neighbors.”

Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Michelle Dahl called for Mamdani to stop the use of the technology in a statement on Thursday that denounced the “surveillance machine the NYPD runs on our streets.”

“Mamdani has spoken out against harmful government spyware in the past, but 10 months into his term, New Yorkers are still waiting for him to truly rein in the surveillance state,” Dahl said.

The issue of policing has become a pain point for Mamdani.

While he campaigned on transforming the city’s public safety apparatus, as mayor he has enacted few significant changes. The police department operates largely as it did under ex-Mayor Eric Adams, including under the same police commissioner, Jessica Tisch. Tisch first got her start at the police department as an intelligence analyst, and she helped build the NYPD’s surveillance network, called the Domain Awareness System.

The Mamdani administration on Tuesday said they’d fulfilled one public safety campaign promise: Axing a $225 million plan to build a mega “Cop City” training ground in Queens. That development was first reported by City & State.

“The Mamdani administration decided not to move forward with the proposed public safety training facility and there is no funding for it in our budget,” Sam Raskin, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a statement, adding the huge facility was “neither necessary nor a good use of public resources.”

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