New York City Democratic Socialists of America | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Abbreviation | NYC-DSA |
| Governing body | Steering Committee |
| Co-chairs | Gustavo Gordillo Grace Mausser |
| Membership (2025) | |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| National affiliation | Democratic Socialists of America |
| International affiliation | Socialist International (1982–2017) Progressive International (2023–present) |
| State Legislature caucus | New York State Socialists in Office |
| Citywide executive offices | 2 / 3 |
| New York State Assembly (NYC) | 5 / 65 |
| New York State Senate (NYC) | 3 / 27 |
| New York City Council | 4 / 51 |
| House of Representatives (NYC) | 1 / 13 |
| Website | |
| socialists | |
The New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA) is the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. It is the largest chapter of the organization, with over 12,000 members. [1]
NYC-DSA has been active in the city since the 1980s, but it became a serious political force after Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. The chapter began to endorse candidates in 2017, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In the early 2020s, it ran several slates of candidates, winning elections in most levels of government. In 2025, NYC-DSA assemblyman Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor, following an upset victory in the Democratic primary.
NYC-DSA is made up of several local branches and is led by its Steering Committee and co-chairs. Candidates go through a strict endorsement process, and almost always run on the Democratic Party ballot line. The chapter supports local progressive and socialist policies. NYC-DSA has been described as "the most dynamic and powerful left-wing organization in the country".
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and its predecessor, the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee had a presence in New York City since the 1980s. [4] DSA member Ruth Messinger was elected to serve as a city councilor and later as Manhattan borough president. [5] [6] DSA member David Dinkins likewise served as a state assemblyman and Manhattan borough president. [7] [8] Representative and former state senator Major Owens was a DSA member, though City & State notes that "his socialist pursuits never garnered much attention". [9] [10] [11] Brad Lander, who served as a city councilor and comptroller, was a member of DSA from 1987 to 2023. [12] [13]
In 1989, Dinkins defeated incumbent mayor Ed Koch in the Democratic mayoral primary, going on to defeat Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani. [14] Despite Dinkins' association with DSA, "no one attributed his mayoral victory to the organization". [4] According to Ross Barkan in The New Republic , in Dinkins' first year as mayor, he gave a speech to the Socialist International. [15] However, in 1993, Dinkins lost re-election to Giuliani. [16] In 1997, Messinger won the Democratic nomination for mayor, though ultimately lost to Giuliani. [17]
In 2011, NYC-DSA activists participated in Occupy Wall Street, which animated leftists in the city and attracted many future DSA members. [18] [19] [20] In 2021, Jabari Brisport wrote in The Forge that four years prior, the chapter was holding meetings of less than 30 people in Brooklyn. [21]
The chapter, like the rest of the organization, significantly grew after socialist senator Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign and the election of Donald Trump. [22] Barkan wrote in Jacobin that Sanders' run "was almost single-handedly responsible for reviving DSA across the country and laying the groundwork for the New York City chapter's emergence as a force in local politics." [19] Weeks after Trump's victory, NYC-DSA formed its electoral working group. [4]
By 2017, NYC-DSA had at least 2,000 members. That year, it ran two candidates for city council: Khader El-Yateem, a Palestinian Lutheran minister, and Jabari Brisport, an actor. El-Yateem was the first Arab-American to run for city council, and tried to appeal to minority communities in City Council district 43 in southwest Brooklyn. [23] [24] Brisport ran on the Green Party ballot line in 35th city council district in central Brooklyn, protesting gentrification. Both focused on housing issues. [25] [26] Hundreds of DSA members volunteered for their campaigns. [27] [26] In November, Brisport lost to incumbent Laurie Cumbo with 29% of the vote, though this was the highest for an independent candidate since 2003. [4] [28] El-Yateem ultimately lost the Democratic primary to his opponent Justin Brannan. [29] Carlina Rivera was a DSA member when she won her city council election that year. [30] NYC-DSA organized with the Crown Heights Tenant Union against turning the Bedford Union Armory into luxury housing and pushed the city council to pass a police reform bill. [31] [21]
Hundreds of activists attended NYC-DSA's 2018 convention. [32] The year prior, DSA activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez began her campaign for New York's 14th congressional district in the Bronx and Queens. [33] She railed against powerful establishment incumbent Joe Crowley and campaigned for Medicare For All, a jobs guarantee, free public college, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. [34] NYC-DSA endorsed and advised her campaign, with many members canvassing for her. [33] [35] In what has been described as "the most shocking upset" of the 2018 primary season, Ocasio-Cortez defeated Crowley with 57.5% of the vote. [36] [37] Ocasio-Cortez quickly became a national figure, and endorsed several other progressive candidates nationwide. [38] [39] Ocasio-Cortez easily defeated her Republican opponent in the November general election with 78%. [40] The excitement around her victory contributed to an increase in DSA membership. [41]
That year, DSA organizer Julia Salazar ran against incumbent Martin Malave Dilan in the 18th State Senate district in northern Brooklyn. [42] Energized by Ocasio-Cortez's win, NYC-DSA ran an "aggressive ground game" in the district. Salazar criticized gentrification and claimed Dilan contributed to the eviction crisis. [43] Salazar defeated Dilan and won her general election in a campaign that attracted wide attention. [44] NYC-DSA also endorsed socialist city councilman Jumaane Williams for Lieutenant Governor and socialist Cynthia Nixon for Governor. [45] Williams campaigned on criminal justice reform, gun control, and women's health. [46] [47] Nixon supported universal healthcare, universal rent control, and more affordable housing. [45] Williams lost to incumbent Kathy Hochul with 46.7% of the vote, [48] while Nixon lost to incumbent Andrew Cuomo with 35%. [49] Williams went on to become public advocate in 2019 and unsuccessfully run for governor in 2022. [50] [51]
By 2019, NYC-DSA had 5,000 members. [4] That year, the chapter endorsed public defender Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney. Cabán ran on ending cash bail and not prosecuting "crimes of poverty", including sex work and fare evasion. DSA "brought its canvassing army" to support Cabán, [4] while the election became a "microcosm of the Democratic Party's deepening rift between progressives and moderates". Cabán appeared to win the election and declared victory, but after a recount requested by opponent Melinda Katz, she conceded after losing by 20 votes. [52] [53] Salazar's housing bill in the state senate failed, though a separate tenant protection bill passed, partly attributed by Sam Lewis in Jacobin to progressive elecoral victories. [54]
By 2020, NYC-DSA had 7,000 members. [3] The chapter supported the Black Lives Matter movement and called for decreasing police funding to fund other services. [55] NYC-DSA activists supported and canvassed for Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. That year, NYC-DSA ran a slate of candidates in local races: Salazar for re-election, Brisport for state senate, and Phara Souffrant Forrest, Marcela Mitaynes, and Zohran Mamdani for state assembly. [3] In The Nation , Raina Lipsitz wrote that "Two years after helping propel AOC to victory in Queens, NYC-DSA is taking on more races than ever before". Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the slate's campaigns had to transition from canvassing to online activism. [56] In the June 23 Democratic primaries, all NYC-DSA candidates defeated their opponents. The slate's "seismic" victory was attributed to the pandemic and associated economic crisis, and the reaction to police brutality. [57] The slate won their general elections, along with unendorsed members Emily Gallagher, Jessica González-Rojas, and Shahana Hanif. [9] [58] Following the victories, the newly elected slate formed the New York State Socialists in Office parliamentary group. [59]
That year, DSA endorsed two candidates in New York City congressional races: Samelys López in New York's 15th congressional district and Jamaal Bowman against Representative Eliot Engel in New York's 16th congressional district. [60] López campaigned on universal healthcare, housing as a human right, and a boycott of Israel. [61] [62] Bowman ran on a platform of Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and policies addressing racial issues. [63] Bowman defeated Engel with 55.4% of the vote and won his general election with 84.2% in what was described as a major victory for progressive Democrats. [60] [64] Ocasio-Cortez easily won her primary with 74.4% and her general election with 71.6%. [65] [66] López however lost her election, receiving 13.9%. [65]
NYC-DSA also ran a slate of six city council candidates in the 2021 election, aiming to create a socialist caucus: [67] Cabán, Alexa Avilés, Brandon West, Michael Hollingsworth, Adolfo Abreu, and Jaslin Kaur. [68] Several other candidates ran as socialists or supported left-wing positions without an endorsement. [69] The slate was opposed by the pro-business "Common Sense NYC" super PAC. Of the six candidates, only Cabán and Avilés won their elections. [70] DSA member Kristin Richardson Jordan won her city council election, though was not endorsed by NYC-DSA. [71] NYC-DSA did not run or endorse a candidate in the mayoral election, though Salazar endorsed Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate Cathy Rojas. [72] [73] [74]
In 2022, NYC-DSA ran a slate of 13 candidates, also endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez: Forrest, Gallagher, Mamdani, Mitanyes, Brisport, and Salazar for re-election, insurgents Illapa Sairitupac, Keron Alleyne, Samy Nemir Olivares, Vanessa Agudelo, and Sarahana Shrestha [a] for assembly, and insurgents Kristen Gonzalez, and David Alexis for state senate. The endorsements were made with a particular emphasis on climate change. [75] In the races for assembly, Mamdani, Gallagher, Mitanyes, and Forrest kept their seats while Shrestha won her race, surviving an "establishment counterattack". [76] [77] In the state senate elections, mayor Eric Adams supported challengers to three DSA candidates. [78] Brisport and Salazar won re-election, and Gonzalez won her race. Ocasio-Cortez faced no opposition. After the elections, Astoria, Queens became the only place in the country to have socialist representation at the city, state, and federal level, becoming known as "The People's Republic of Astoria". [79] [80] Bowman faced controversy from members of DSA after voting for Iron Dome funding and was not endorsed by the organization. He let his membership expire over its stance on Israel in 2022. [81] [82]
In 2023, NYC-DSA faced condemnation from many elected officials for promoting a pro-Palestinian rally after the October 7 attacks. NYC-DSA later distanced itself from the rally. [83] The chapter took a pro-Palestinian stance during the Gaza war. [84] Earlier that year, Mamdani was the keynote speaker at the national DSA convention. [85] The "Build Public Renewables Act" passed the assembly, which ordered the New York Power Authority to move away from electricity and toward renewable energy. The bill was "a product of years of advocacy by the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America". [86] By January 2024, NYC-DSA faced technical and legal disputes over campaign funding in the 2022 elections and a budget deficit in the national DSA. [87]
In 2024, DSA city councilors Cabán, Avilés, and Hanif voted against the city budget in protest, saying it was insufficient for the working class. [88] In April, eight NYC-DSA state legislators signed onto a letter supporting the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and other college protests. [89] In June, Bowman attempted to make amends with DSA and said he wouldn't support Iron Dome funding, gaining back NYC-DSA's endorsement. [90] Ocasio-Cortez was also seen by some DSA members as less committed to Palestine, losing her national endorsement but keeping NYC-DSA's. [91] NYC-DSA supported the "Leave it Blank" campaign in the Democratic presidential primary to protest the Gaza war. [92] That year, NYC-DSA endorsed its incumbents Bowman, Ocasio-Cortez, Gonzalez, Mamdani, Brisport, Gallagher, Mitanyes, Salazar, Forest, and Shrestha, [a] and insurgent candidates Eon Huntley, Claire Valdez, and Jonathan Soto for assembly. [93] Bowman ultimately lost his primary to George Latimer. Huntley and Soto lost their races as well. All other NYC-DSA incumbents kept their seats, and Valdez won her race. The elections were described as a "mixed bag" for progressives and socialists. [94] NYC-DSA supported the "City of Yes" housing bill. [95] In early 2025, NYC-DSA organized a rally to protest NYU Langone denying gender-affirming surgery to minors. [96]
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In October 2024, Mamdani announced he would run for mayor in the 2025 Democratic primary on a progressive and socialist platform. [97] [98] Mamdani's campaign focused on affordability, proposing a rent freeze for rent stabilized units, free bus service, universal child care, city-run grocery stores, building social housing, and raising taxes on the rich. [99] [100] Some NYC-DSA elected officials doubted success, though 81% of members and 90% of delegates voted to endorse him at the 2024 convention. [101] [102] Mamdani was viewed as a "cadre" candidate for NYC-DSA, having strong pre-existing connections to the chapter. [103]
Mamdani steadily gained in polls, becoming second place to former Governor Andrew Cuomo and outright leading in some. [104] Mamdani was supported by many progressives and socialists, while Cuomo was supported by the Democratic establishment. [105] [106] Throughout the campaign, volunteers for Mamdani knocked on over one million doors, largely coordinated with NYC-DSA. [107] Cuomo attacked Mamdani for his identity as a socialist and association with DSA. [108] [109] The race galvanized the chapter, which gained 2,400 members since the start of the campaign by late May. [102] Mamdani's campaign came at a time where the base of the Democratic Party was increasingly open to socialist ideas, in response to the perceived ineffectiveness of the establishment following Trump's 2024 election win. [110]
On June 24, Mamdani pulled off an upset victory, leading Cuomo with 43.5% of the vote to his 36.3% in the first round of voting, a margin which "virtually no pollster predicted". Cuomo conceded the race later that night, leaving Mamdani the presumptive nominee. [111] Ranked choice results released on July 1 showed Mamdani with 56%, officially winning the primary. [112] The youthful, multiracial, leftist neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens where Mamdani overperformed became known as the "Commie Corridor". [113] NYC-DSA was described after the victory as "the most dynamic and powerful left-wing organization in the country" and a powerful local electoral machine. [114] [115] NYC-DSA members Hanif and Avilés also won their primaries. [116] NYC-DSA membership significantly increased after the victory, and contributed to an increase in national DSA membership. [110] In July, the chapter reached a membership of 10,000. [103] The chapter grew to 11,000 members by August. [117] [118] Shortly after the primary, progressive city councilman Chi Ossé joined DSA. [119]
In the general election, Mamdani faced Cuomo (running as an independent) and Republican Curtis Sliwa. [120] Incumbent mayor Eric Adams and candidate Jim Walden dropped out of the race to help coalesce anti-Mamdani voters around Cuomo. [121] [122] Establishment Democrats were reluctant to endorse Mamdani, though many ultimately did. [123] [124] President Trump officially endorsed Cuomo on the eve of Election Day. [125] By the end of the campaign, volunteers for Mamdani knocked on over 3 million doors. [126] On November 3, Mamdani won the election with 50.4% of the vote to Cuomo's 41.6% and Sliwa's 7.2%. Mamdani surpassed one million votes, in the highest turnout election since 1969. [127] Mamdani's victory was celebrated by the left internationally, but drew condemnation from Republicans and pro-Israel politicians. [128] [129] Mamdani, during his victory speech, said: "I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this." [130] Avilés and Hanif both won re-election. [131] NYC-DSA celebrated the win, and has given Mamdani "wider-than-normal berth" to govern and deviate from its policies. [132]
On November 5, Mamdani announced his government transition team. [133] Mamdani appointed NYC-DSA co-chairs Mausser and Gordillo to business and economic transition committees, respectively. [134] Mamdani's retention of police commissioner Jessica Tisch was controversial among socialists. [135] [136]
At midnight on January 1, 2026, Mamdani was officially sworn in as the 112th mayor of New York City. [137] Later in the day, he was officially sworn in by Sanders, with the opening speech by Ocasio-Cortez. [138] In his inaugural speech, Mamdani said he would not abandon his socialist ideals, defended the idea of big government, promised "the warmth of collectivism", and said he would govern for all New Yorkers. [139] Mamdani has appointed multiple NYC-DSA members to positions in his administration: Elle Bisgaard-Church to be chief of staff, [140] [141] Tascha Van Auken to the new Office of Mass Engagement, [142] and Cea Weaver to the newly reinstated Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants. [143] [144] Weaver came under criticism from conservatives over past tweets about homeownership and white supremacy, though Mamdani defended her work. [145]
By November, NYC-DSA had 12,000 members. [1] For the 2026 elections, NYC-DSA endorsed Huntley, Christian Celeste Tate, Aber Kawas, David Orkin, Conrad Blackburn, and Diana Moreno for assembly elections. [146] [147] [148] Mamdani urged NYC-DSA members not to endorse Ossé's potential congressional bid against Jeffries and supported Brad Lander over Avilés' potential DSA campaign. [b] [151] [152]
NYC-DSA is a chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the largest socialist organization in the United States. NYC-DSA is the largest chapter of the organization. [153] DSA is not a strict political party, but an organization that sometimes acts like a party or a party surrogate. [87] [114] [148] DSA often supports Democratic candidates, but is not "necessarily tied" to the party. [154] NYC-DSA often collaborates with the Working Families Party. [4] [155]
As of 2025, NYC-DSA includes the following branches: Flatbush, North, Central, and South Brooklyn; Queens; Lower Manhattan; Bronx/Upper Manhattan; and Staten Island. [156] [157] Over 3,000 members of the chapter reside in New York's 7th congressional district. [158]
NYC-DSA is influenced by multiple caucuses of DSA. "Liquidationist" or "right" caucuses who seek to work within the Democratic Party comprise about 60% of the chapter, while "partyist" or "left" caucuses who seek an independent socialist party comprise about 36%. [159] [160]
According to the NYC-DSA website:
The Steering Committee is the elected leadership of the NYC-DSA city chapter. The co-chairs, treasurer, secretary, campaigns coordinator, membership coordinator, communications coordinator, and technology and tools coordinator are elected annually. The branch representatives are elected annually by their respective branches. [161]
The current co-chairs of NYC-DSA are Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser. [162]
NYC-DSA has a thorough endorsement process. All candidates must complete a questionnaire and answer questions from NYC-DSA members at citywide and branch-based forums. Then, the relevant branches vote on the endorsement. If the candidate passes the branch votes, the Citywide Leadership Committee, which includes elected representatives from different branches and the Young Democratic Socialists of America, votes on the endorsements. [2] [163]
NYC-DSA has a "Socialists in Office" (SIO) committee, to coordinate and communicate with its officials. If the committee comes to a consensus and adopts a position, NYC-DSA assembly members are expected to vote as a bloc. [59] The committee also serves to insulate members from legislative pressure. [164] The official SIO platform includes: transferring to green energy, criminal justice reform, redistribution, public banking, abortion rights, tenant protections, funding NYCHA and public transit, and universal healthcare, childcare, and education. [165] NYC-DSA supports worker ownership of the means of production. [166]
While the roots of the DSA go back to a socialist organizational merger in 1982, its membership ranks swelled with the rise of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) starting with his successful independent run for Senate and his runs for president...
Now, democratic socialists are hoping to add three more to their ranks in Albany: Claire Valdez from Queens, Jonathan Soto from the Bronx, and Brooklyn's Eon Tyrell Huntley.
NYC-DSA Co-chairs Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser attend Zohran Mamdani's election night party in Long Island City.