By Rikki Zagelbaum, JNS
An NYPD spokesman told JNS that “the department explored different cell-site simulators and determined that this device best met the needs of the NYPD.”
The New York City Police Department dropped plans to award a no-bid contract to Israeli technology company Cognyte for a cellphone surveillance system after Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced criticism from progressive lawmakers and privacy advocates, the New York Daily News reported on Tuesday.
An NYPD spokesman told JNS that the department “uses cell-site simulators for the location or identification of mobile devices.”
“We use this technology to locate missing persons, victims of abductions and criminal suspects,” the spokesman said. “The department explored different cell-site simulators and determined that this device best met the needs of the NYPD.”
“Cognyte can still bid on the contract,” the spokesman told JNS.
JNS sought comment from Cognyte and City Hall.
An NYPD spokesman told the Daily News that the proposed deal “did not meet the criteria for a sole source procurement.”
The department first announced plans to negotiate with Cognyte in December 2025, under former mayor Eric Adams.
An Oct. 7 city procurement notice valued the proposed three-year contract at up to $750,500 for FalcoNet equipment, training and support for the department’s technical assistance and response unit.
FalcoNet imitates a cellular tower to help investigators locate cellphones. The NYPD already uses other cell-site simulators to locate suspects, missing people and abduction victims.
The proposed contract would have added FalcoNet to those capabilities.
New York City Council member Tiffany Cabán, who, like Mamdani, is part of the Democratic Socialists of America, criticized the proposed purchase on Tuesday.
“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,” she 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 stated.
“It’s time for our city government to cut ties with companies like these that profit off of human rights abuses,” she said.
The NYPD confirmed its change of plans the same day. The decision reportedly followed a meeting between Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, according to the Daily News, which cited sources familiar with the matter.
Mamdani supports the movement to boycott Israel and has accused the Israeli military of contributing to police violence in New York City.
At a Democratic Socialists of America event in 2023, he said that “when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.”
The NYPD said it would not use FalcoNet to listen to calls or collect text messages from phones unrelated to investigations, according to the Daily News.
Its published policy generally requires warrants for investigative use of cell-site simulators. Certain emergency deployments require a warrant within 48 hours, while searches for missing or suicidal people are exempt.
