The New York City Police Department has abandoned plans to award a no-bid contract to Israeli surveillance technology company Cognyte following criticism from progressive politicians and privacy advocates directed at Mayor Zohran Mamdani, JNS reported.
The proposed agreement would have provided the NYPD with FalcoNet, a system that mimics cellphone towers to help investigators identify and locate mobile devices.
An NYPD spokesperson confirmed the department's decision but emphasized that the technology serves legitimate law enforcement purposes.
The department “uses cell-site simulators for the location or identification of mobile devices," the spokesperson told JNS.
“We use this technology to locate missing persons, victims of abductions and criminal suspects," he explained. “The department explored different cell-site simulators and determined that this device best met the needs of the NYPD."
The spokesperson added that “Cognyte can still bid on the contract."
The NYPD originally announced its intention to negotiate with Cognyte in December 2025, while Eric Adams was serving as mayor.
A municipal procurement notice published earlier this month outlined a proposed three-year agreement worth up to $750,500, covering FalcoNet equipment, training and technical support for the department's technical assistance and response unit.
The system would have supplemented the NYPD's existing cell-site simulators, which are used in investigations involving criminal suspects, missing persons and kidnapping victims.
However, the proposed purchase drew opposition from progressive members of the City Council, including Tiffany Cabán, who, like Mamdani, belongs to the Democratic Socialists of America.
“We should not be giving the NYPD, a department that already spends millions on surveillance, another tool that will allow them to conduct mass surveillance of New Yorkers," Cabán stated.
“That is doubly true for a technology that has been used by human rights abusers, including the governments of Israel, Myanmar and South Sudan to track dissidents and targets of state violence," she added.
“It’s time for our city government to cut ties with companies like these that profit off of human rights abuses," Cabán said.
The NYPD confirmed that it was abandoning the planned agreement on the same day Cabán voiced her objections.
According to the New York Daily News, citing sources familiar with the discussions, the decision followed a meeting between Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The department maintained that FalcoNet would not have been used to intercept telephone conversations or obtain text messages from devices unrelated to criminal investigations.
Under the NYPD's published procedures, investigators generally must obtain a warrant before deploying cell-site simulators. Emergency situations may permit deployment before a warrant is issued, provided one is obtained within 48 hours. Searches involving missing persons or individuals at risk of suicide are exempt from that requirement.
The controversy comes amid continuing criticism of Mamdani's positions on Israel, which became a prominent issue during his mayoral campaign.
Among the controversies were remarks he made on October 8, 2023, one day after Hamas terrorists massacred Israelis in southern Israel, and his refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada".
Since taking office, Mamdani has continued to face scrutiny over his approach to Israel.
On his first day as mayor, he revoked several executive orders concerning Israel that had been issued by Adams. He also became the first New York City mayor to boycott the annual Israel Day Parade.
Earlier this month, Mamdani faced additional criticism over his statement marking the anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
Although he expressed mourning for Israelis murdered and kidnapped by Hamas, much of his message focused on allegations concerning Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Mamdani subsequently defended his remarks, describing the Hamas atrocities as “unthinkable devastation" while again accusing Israel of wrongdoing.
He alleged that “the Israeli government used and continues to use that day, those war crimes as a justification for an ongoing genocide."
During that press conference, Mamdani accused Israel of genocide six times.