NYPD would hire older recruits under bill proposed by New York City Council

The new maximum age for applicants seeking to become NYPD cops would be 42, according to legislation being considered by the New York City Council to raise the age from the current maximum of 34.

On Wednesday, two key officials — NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Council Speaker Julie Menin — voiced support for the legislation, Introduction 913 of 2026. The bill, if it becomes law, would help offset attrition, which Menin said is roughly 8.25% to 10% annually, so the NYPD can maintain its authorized headcount of 36,000 cops.

Menin, whose support as speaker almost certainly assures its passage, said Tisch called her about the need for the change.

Under the legislation, a person could be 42 when applying to take the civil service test; thus, a successful applicant could be even older when appointed to the job. The legislation would also let applicants who have been on military duty to be even older than 42 — by up to six years. Veterans' time on duty would be subtracted from the age of applicants who are 43 or older, according to the bill.

Bill sponsor Amanda Farías said the legislation, which was drafted after conversations with Tisch's office, labor unions and police precincts in her district, "allows the city to tap into a broader pool of mature, experienced candidates."

"The NYPD is facing ongoing recruitment and retention challenges that are putting strain on officers and impacting public safety," Farías, who represents portions of the Bronx on the council, told Newsday. 

"At the same time, there are qualified New Yorkers, including veterans, former law enforcement personnel, security professionals and individuals with other valuable work experience who are currently excluded from even taking the exam solely because of age."

Sam Raskin, a spokesman for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Tisch’s boss, says the administration backs the legislation, and is reviewing the bill’s language and would work with the NYPD and council to implement it.

At an unrelated event in the Bronx to announce a bureaucratic change to how the borough is policed, Tisch thanked Farías for backing the bill.

Current law sets a mandatory retirement age of 62 for NYPD cops. A person who is hired when older than 42 wouldn't be able to work for the department for the 20 years that qualifies a cop for a full pension. 

Roughly one-third of NYPD cops live on Long Island. 

Different departments set various limits for the maximum age at which a person can join a police force, but most American departments tend to place the age in the 30s or early 40s.

Suffolk’s maximum age is 42 on the date of the written exam; Nassau’s is 34 on exam day. Both counties have similar allowances for older applicants who have been in the military. The city and Nassau allow 17-year-olds to take the exam; it's 19 for Suffolk. 

In the history of the NYPD, which was established in 1845, there have been various age cut-offs over the years.

New York City's maximum age had at one point been 29 until the early 1990s, when it rose to 34. In one of the few court challenges to consider age limits, older applicants sued unsuccessfully to raise the age even higher, alleging illegal discrimination, but a judge in 1997 rejected the claim, citing the right of governments to enforce minimum standards for the job. 

Age restrictions have long been subject to debate. 

A 1927 letter published in The New York Times, citing the draft ages during World War I, questioned "whether the job of policeman should be given to mere boys in their early twenties" and argued that "only married men between the ages of 30 and 46 should be appointed."

"If men up to the age of 46 are good enough for military duty, why are they not good enough for police duty," the letter writer asked, "provided, of course, they can pass the physical and mental tests for the job?"

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.