Exclusive | Mayor’s friend was responsible for care of NYPD widows, fraternal groups

A longtime landlady pal of Mayor Adams who was appointed to a plum gig at the NYPD — and made nearly $300,000 last year – is retiring.

Lisa White, the controversial deputy commissioner for employee relations since 2019, rented a room to Adams for four years at her Crown Heights apartment before he was elected mayor, and worked with a non-profit group he created to push for fairer treatment of black cops in the department, according to records.

With Adams in City Hall, White went from being a $53,000-a-year 911 call operator for 24 years, to overseeing the mental health and morale of the NYPD’s 35,000 uniformed members — at a starting salary of about $241,000, records show. 

White’s appointment was made by former NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, an Adams appointee herself.

White made a total of $283,963 in fiscal 2024, city records show. She also gets a pension of about $30,000 a year from her 911 job. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch makes $286,627.

An NYPD spokesperson lauded White’s work at the NYPD.

“Deputy Commissioner Lisa White has dedicated her career to serving New York City, and for more than 30 years, she has worked at all levels of the NYPD,” the spokesperson said. “We thank her for her service to the department and wish her the very best in her retirement.”

Her office is also responsible for assisting family members who have lost their police officer loved ones in the line of duty, Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro said.

“She was always caring about the line of duty families and the fraternal organizations,” Munro said of the police widows and the dozens of non-profit groups that support police officers. “She always tried to help them get what they needed.”