Socialism in New York

Political Ideology

Democratic Socialism

Historical Milestone

Seven socialists elected to the Board of Aldermen in 1917

2025 Podcast Designation

Disgraciad of the year (All-In Podcast)

Key Legislative Achievement

Build Public Renewables Act (2023)

Primary Political Organization

New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA)

1917-11-06

2018-11-06

2023-05-03

2025-11-05

At least three socialists have declared victory in New York’s city council races: Alexa Avilés of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Tiffany Cabán of Astoria, Queens, and Kristin Richardson Jordan of Harlem, New York. Cabán and Avilés were both endorsed by New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA), while Jordan is a DSA member (though not endorsed by NYC-DSA, her campaign was endorsed by socialist congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). Their effective election is an exciting milestone for [...] In 1917, seven socialists, all backed by the Socialist Party, were elected to the seventy-member New York City Board of Aldermen, an earlier form of the body that later became the New York City Council. One of the best known of these men was Baruch Vladeck, a journalist. Born in a small, impoverished village near Minsk, he was drawn to revolutionary movements as a teenager, became an accomplished orator, and served time in a czarist prison for recommending “liberal books” to schoolchildren. [...] Last year, when a slate of socialists won seats in New York State government, Jacobin noted their predecessors in the immigrant activists of the late teens and early 1920s, who were repeatedly elected before being expelled from the legislature by their Albany colleagues. During the same period, socialists were also active in municipal politics.

What follows is a tale told in the future tense, an attempt to imagine how the “unconstrained vision” of socialism might play out in an unconstrained New York. It’s speculative fiction, not prophecy. No actual socialists were harmed in the making of this experiment. [...] Because their ideology has failed consistently in the past, socialists have perfected the art of assigning blame. Even in a scarcity economy, they can produce an endless supply of scapegoats. New York, as a global financial hub, offers a natural target in Big Capital—except capitalism today is a pale shadow of its old exploitative self, more United Colors of Benetton than bloodsucking vampire. A cruder, more easily hated, stereotype will be needed. [...] # Socialism with a New York Face A thought experiment Suppose socialism came to New York City for the long term. What would life look like under a leadership wholly committed to that vision?

Looking at state legislatures, socialists have had the most success by far in New York State. DSA now boasts three state senators — Julia Salazar, Jabari Brisport, and Kristen Gonzalez — and five state legislators: Emily Gallagher, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Marcela Mitaynes, Zohran Kwame Mamdani, and Sarahana Shrestha. They will soon be joined in the state assembly by Claire Valdez, who won her Democratic Party primary election in June of this year and will advance unopposed in the general [...] DSA began building its bench in the New York state legislature in 2018, the same year AOC and Rashida Tlaib were elected to Congress, with the election of Salazar. But it was in 2020 that socialists really broke through, with the election of Brisport, Forrest, Mitaynes, Mamdani, and Gallagher; the group expanded its foothold further in 2022 with the addition of Gonzalez and Shrestha. The eight legislators coordinate legislative strategy and priorities through what’s known as the New York State [...] Since 2018, socialist electeds have championed a number of progressive policy priorities, and with the help of progressive allies in the legislature have been able to push through some of these reforms. These include a significant expansion of tenant protections in 2019 and higher taxes on the rich to fund COVID-19 relief programs and public schools in 2021. One of the SIO’s most celebrated achievements was the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) of 2023, which directs New York State’s public

"Since [Mamdani's] primary win in June, Democratic Socialism has soared in popularity here and across the nation," the NYC-DSA tweeted after his general election win. "Our unprecedented growth is a testament to our vision and our ability to inspire renewed hope and political engagement from the working class." As Mamdani's campaign pushed democratic socialism further into the mainstream, it has also raised questions about what the political ideology is — and isn't. [...] New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani holds hands with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a campaign rally in October. All three identify as democratic socialists. Angela Weiss/AFP hide caption New York City has elected a democratic socialist as its next mayor. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won with a progressive platform focused on making the city more affordable, through free bus service, frozen rents, universal childcare and a higher minimum wage, among other ideas. [...] "I think people are going to really want to talk about socialism if some of these policy changes actually start coming into effect," McMenamin adds. "And so what could happen in New York over the next year could make a big change for people in all 50 states." ###### Read & Listen ###### Connect ###### About NPR ###### Get Involved Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor