In the middle of a torrential downpour and unrelenting heat in New York, I made my way to a storied Gothic revival church serving Brooklyn Heights for almost a hundred years. What I found inside that night surprised me: rows and rows of pews filled with young New Yorkers. I had to settle for a seat behind a large column in the back. If the church felt timeless, the gathering was decidedly of the moment. It was almost as if the 45-and-under demographic that transformed the Democratic primary election vote was transported symbolically to this historic church on this particular night. Their optimism and passion for making our city work for everyone was palpable. Such was the energy bringing people to a mid-summer New York City DSA convening.
The last few months have been a wild ride for New Yorkers. Disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo, armed with close to $30 million in Super PAC money, millions of dollars of free press from corporate media, and the political establishment in his back pocket, tried to force himself on New York City residents in the Democratic mayoral primary. He was rebuffed handily by Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist assembly member who won by 12 points. New York power brokers are having a meltdown over the reality that our city will finally have a mayor they cannot control. For myself, as the first woman who came forward with harassment allegations that ultimately led to Cuomo’s resignation, this has been an incredibly therapeutic and necessary shift in our city’s politics.
Mamdani, his campaign, and the broad coalition of support will be written about for years to come. Among the most important forces behind this historic upset is the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
The July 14th “Mayor’s Race Debrief” was the first big DSA event I attended. I was welcomed by name and with genuine warmth, something often rare in political spaces. The excitement in the church was palpable – most folks had canvassed and donated to Zohran’s campaign since their organization helped him launch in October 2024. Hundreds listened attentively as the electoral working group leads presented on the efforts they had undertaken during the primary and what we would need to do to help win decisively in the November general election and garner a strong mandate to lead. There were numerous visual presentations explaining how high voter turnout was directly connected to canvassing efforts. I was struck by how strategic it was, how crisp and thoughtful each working group lead was in their presentation, as well as the openness and accessibility of the Q&A that followed.
This could not have been in greater contrast to the entirety of my years working for Andrew Cuomo ultimately as Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Housing or being stuck in his toxic orbit. If you wanted a career under his reign, genuine conversation was not welcomed nor advised. So scripted was every public meeting or event that there would be no question asked that would make him or his most senior cronies uncomfortable. Much of the press was in on or at least aware of the game — they were only called on if they could be counted on to ask certain types of questions and avoid others. For Cuomo, power was and is always about control. Everything flowed from that demand and everyone, even lieutenant governors, cabinet members and legislative leaders fell in line.
Discovering The Unexpected
Imagine my surprise, finding out that DSA is a place where every voice is truly valued and the goal is actually to deal with extreme inequality — the very issue that dominates our era. One of the many collaborative actions I worked on during the primary campaign was a press conference for the June 14 “No Kings Day” march in New York City where we made the connection between Trump and Cuomo. They’re basically the same person: abusers who seek office only to further empower themselves at the expense of everyone else. The trick was not only to get the other mayoral candidates there to speak out against Cuomo (Shout out to the Working Families Party on this!), but also have a large contingent of anti-Cuomo folks join the broader march after.
It was DSA members who showed up early to help set up the press conference. It was DSA members who helped lead our contingent into the rally and who printed stickers and posters to highlight our anti-abuser message at the event. Each small detail was considered and planned with the aid of DSA members – I and others were never left alone to do the hard work in isolation.
Not only is everything about DSA so unlike my experience working for Cuomo, it is so disparate from my experience of being abandoned by my own party, the Democratic Party of New York. After I came forward and the governor resigned, many elected Democrats called me and the other women brave. However, many of these party leaders remained silent when Cuomo decided to run again, despite their earlier halfhearted calls for his resignation. My party quite literally let me fight this monster and his attacks alone, rather than use their privilege to peak up and tell him not to run. If the party establishment is still wondering why their power is waning while DSA’s is growing, they don’t have to look far.
From the beginning, DSA stood by me and all those Cuomo harmed. On primary election night, one of their data experts took time out of his busy evening with journalists to walk me through the early returns knowing how much this meant to me and my family. Every community canvas I participated in for Zohran was led and filled with DSA members helping to spread the word both for Mamdani and against Cuomo. The organization was a huge force behind the 50,000 volunteers knocking over 1.6 million doors during the primary. Even online, as I continue to be smeared by Cuomo supporters, it is often DSA members who are amongst the first to push back and counter the narrative by creating social media campaigns to help highlight the many abuses of Cuomo and his enablers. Isn’t that what the parties are supposed to be about? Shouldn’t political parties support the most vulnerable within their ranks and prioritize ethics over power?
We need more of this, not just in New York City but across the country. The DSA community is one built on caring for and learning from each other to make our city work for everybody. When they are not doing political work, they hold cultural and recreational events that allow people to simply enjoy each other’s company. Cuomo’s world of abuse, toxicity, and fearmongering should not simply stand in opposition to DSA. It should be a thing of the past entirely.
The New York City DSA’s membership recently crossed 10,000 while the reach of the organization during the primary was a high multiple of that. They made an indelible impact on our city with Zohran’s primary victory. Before that, they supported me and my fight when others cowered before abusers. DSA has made a commitment to fighting for New Yorkers, even when those fights are neither popular nor easy. They are doing the important work to move our city towards true equity and accountability. This is among one of the many reasons why I am proud to be a new DSA member. You should join too by going to socialists.nyc.
Lindsey Boylan is an urban planner who served in the Cuomo administration as deputy secretary for economic development and special advisor to the governor. In February 2021, she became the first of 13 women to accuse Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment.
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