Astoria Park is seeking to engage a for-profit entity to enclose at least eight of the fourteen tennis courts at Astoria Park with a bubble from mid-October to the end of April, creating indoor courts. The private entity will also be awarded two courts in the summertime, and will construct a clubhouse that will remain open all year.

Pop the Astoria Bubble Organizer Aida Marquetti is a lifelong Astoria resident and Queens DSA Member who said she joined the effort to stop the trend of people, including many of her friends over the years, being priced out of the neighborhood.

“I couldn’t believe it. I grew up in Astoria, and I’ve watched so many of my friends get priced out of their homes, we can’t let them price us out of the tennis courts too!”

There are 105 tennis courts within 30 minutes of Astoria. Only 54 (51%) are free and public in the permit season that spans April to November. In winter, only 24, or 23%, are free and public. 14 of those 24 courts are in Astoria Park, which means if all eight of the possible courts are privatized as listed in the RFP, that would reduce the number of free and public courts outside the permit season by a full one third.

Nearby for-profit tennis court facilities and prices range anywhere from $42 an hour to $250 an hour.

According to Marquetti, the campaign doesn’t have any sort of leadership hierarchy, but does have a core organizing group.

“The original person that started to tell people about the bubble was a senior citizen named Kosta who migrated to Astoria several decades ago. He has played in the tennis courts for over 40 years and started printing flyers and telling other tennis players about the Bubble. Kosta eventually met Yoshi and Meng. Together, they started to pull more people into the collective and did the core research. Then they built the website and an email tool. They were able to get over 2500 signatures to a petition, a figure that is now up to 3500.”

Marquetti got involved by seeing a post from Queens DSA organizer Sara Abiboutros, who also helped get the Queens DSA Community Solidarity Committee on board for the collaboration. Marquetti says another person, Chris DiMino, has been another one of the original core organizers.

Astoria resident and Queens DSA member Michael Inkles attended the trash cleanup and supports Pop the Astoria Bubble, despite not being a tennis player.

“What I love most about Astoria is the wonderful sense of community you get here. Picking up trash with my neighbors really made me feel connected to this place where people from all backgrounds genuinely look out for each other. It’s why I support Pop the Bubble. I’m not a tennis player, but it’s the Astoria way to care about my neighbors who rely on the public courts for the activity they love most.”

Pop the Astoria Bubble is currently rallying residents to their next Community Board meeting on September 22 at 6pm to speak out against the proposal.

Edited by: River Shi

Bear with me—there’s a reason I’m telling you all this.

As I got off in LIC, a woman next to me with her partner was wearing a Hot Girls for Zohran shirt. I pointed at my rose pin, said to her, “dope shirt,” and then we fist bumped as I got off. There are now so many DSA members and/or Zohran supporters across the City, it is no longer unusual to have an interaction like this out in the wild.

I emerged to the bustle of LIC and a beautiful evening where the sun was still out with the temperature cooling by the minute. As I arrived at my Citibike, I pressed send on a post to X about the interaction, put my phone away, and biked up to Astoria.

Saying I “got off the G to Astoria” made sense to me because Astoria was my final destination and a quick bike ride after getting off the train felt like a tiny semantic. I never said I got off the G IN Astoria, I said I got off the G TO Astoria.

My inner wordsmith didn’t like the clunkiness of “getting off the G to get to Astoria” or “getting off the G in LIC to get to Astoria.” Figuring nobody would care much about such a semantic, I simply posted and went about my day.

Little did I know the firestorm to come. Let’s break down the responses below.

Regular Comradely Responses

For around the first 18 hours, most of the responses were just favorites and a similar story or two from fellow comrades. Many people understood exactly what I meant, so I continued to not think too much of it. This is how it remained until 2pm Saturday afternoon.

The Interaction was a Lie

Despite the initial good vibes, one of the very first responses was from a young, centrist Democrat named Paolo Cremidis who accused me of making up the story. It now appears he deleted his original comment, but he ended up being followed by many others who simply refused to believe there are enough supporters of NYC’s historically popular DSA Mayor for us to bump into each other. It’s all some sort of mass conspiracy! If Paolo or these others are looking for friends of a shared mind, I’d recommend Mariama James.

Straight-Up Meanness

As the post got bigger, some fell back on classic derogatory attacks.

Some people are so incensed by our victorious joy, they can’t even stand to simply see me in my zone.

TRANSPLANT Doesn’t Know Where the Trains Go

It took some time for this one to really give the story legs, but more responses than I ever would have imagined painted me as a clueless transplant because the G doesn’t technically go all the way to Astoria, despite the fact I literally said “Just got off TO Astoria” not “Just got off IN Astoria.”

Despite my initial comments to people that getting off and biking the rest of the way is semantic to me, this attack spread like wildfire. It didn’t seem to matter that it was a disingenuous read of the situation.

Suddenly, I realized a sobering truth: it was too late. The cat was out of the bag and this? This was a good ol’ fashioned hate parade. By 2pm Saturday, my Twitter was an explosion of notifications.

These Republicans and Centrist Dems didn’t need an actual error to run wild with the concept of a transplant appearing uninformed. They only needed the perception of an error, bad faith or no. And something about this particular issue was like an addictive substance for New York Centrist Dems and Republicans, who have been desperately seeking something, anything to downplay or distract from getting washed in recent elections by DSA since Donald Trump was re-elected due to a decade of Centrist folly.

Realizing there was nothing left to do, I decided to kick it and set out to enjoy my Saturday, which was dope.

The Future

So what is all this actually about, anyway? Everyone reading this knows the answer: the balance of political power in New York is permanently shifting towards DSA. An entire class of centrist consultants, centrist political staff, and various historically powerful groups of centrist stakeholders are terrified it is the end of their access to the cushy political jobs and access to the steer the direction of New York politics that have allowed them to bend society toward the unsustainable future of a Capitalism that runs wild as we all trust the gods and goddesses of the free market to straighten it all out.

Nobody has made this more strikingly clear than Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and the Brooklyn Dems.

This was not the first flash in the pan for the Left and it won’t be the last. Whether it’s the NYPD being hit with some snowballs, Little Italy not being included on the tourism map, or Lulu Lenin daring to be a class traitor, these flashes in the pan will keep popping up and being forgotten as the news cycle moves on. And that’s all they’ll be: temporary blips as DSA organizes permanent power.

While my post consumed the attention of all the DSA haters in the following 36 hours, I made it to my destination in Astoria. Many DSA members were on-site for a trash cleanup that doubled as a visibility event for the Pop the Bubble Campaign aiming to stop the Privatization of the Tennis Courts at Astoria Park.Trash was being cleaned up, awareness of the campaign was being spread, and the public watched as DSA strove for the public good.

A few hours later, I was off to a nighttime houseparty near Brooklyn Borough Hall hosted by a DSA comrade. It was attended by many of my fellow DSA members where we all made new connections, formed personal bonds, and strategized for the future.

This is the reality driving the desperation behind each of the flashes in the pan. We are a durable force. Multiple generations now committed to this project for the long term, not only election cycle or two. This is more than showing up to a Democratic club meeting once a month. It is making the drive for a better society part of our everyday lives.

As the Centrist opposition reaches for the next flash in the pan to slow us down, we will keep living the video below. With many more to come.

Edited by: River Shi

Williams was just elected unopposed as AD-59 District Leader, to the Brooklyn Democrats Executive Committee. She is succeeding Roxanne Persaud in the District Leader seat—commencing in September, she will be District Leader alongside Frank Seddio in AD-59.

According to local sources, Williams is a protege of Seddio and a long-time ally of embattled Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn. Coincedentally, the incumbent Brooklyn Dems Party apparatus even used large campaign posters for Williams and Seddio to block the windows of their recent meeting to change the party rules, allowing them to keep power after losing their majority on the Executive Committee in the recent primary elections.

Separately, she just won the Democratic primary for re-election for her State Assembly seat, against Jibreel Jalloh. AD-59 encompasses the South Brooklyn neighborhoods of Canarsie, Georgetown, Plumb Beach, Mill Basin, Marine Park, and Gerritsen. Williams also appeared on the Conservative Party ballot line.

While it is unorthodox for an incoming District Leader to donate to Conservative causes, the by-laws of the Brooklyn Dems do not expressly forbid it as an ethics violation.

New York State Conservative Party

Founded in 1962, the New York State Conservative Party platform includes opposing abortions unless in circumstances of danger to the mother, supporting stop and frisk, repealing the Red Flag law, opposing state efforts to eliminate student debt, opposing same day voter registration and no-excuse mail-in voting, supporting ending the ban on fracking in the Southern Tier, opposing including transgender people as a protected class, and supporting legislation that would shield “religious institutions from being required to recognize/perform marriages that are not within their traditional definition of marriage,” which would allow them to oppose gay marriage, among other platform planks.

The Conservative Party is also supporting Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Bruce Blakeman against incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, along with hundreds of other Republican candidates across New York State this cycle.

When asked if Governor Hochul had any comment on a Democratic lawmaker providing material financial support to a Conservative institution activity opposing her candidacy, the Governor’s campaign team did not respond.

This is not the first time Williams has supported right wing causes. She endorsed Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa in the 2025 general election instead of Democrat Zohran Mamdani. Williams was previously mistaken for a Republican by US Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.

When asked by State of the Left how she squares being a Democrat with providing material financial support to a Conservative institution that opposes most basic planks of the Democratic Party platform and supports Republican candidates in direct opposition to Democratic candidates, Williams did not respond.

New Kings Democrats President Tony Melone said to State of the Left: “This is Frank and Rodneyse’s vision for the Brooklyn Democratic Party: a party that works with Republicans instead of fighting them, and a party whose top priority is protecting incumbents, even after the voters voted for change in 8 out of 9 district leader races this year.”

This article will be updated with any responses received.

The complaint has not yet been submitted with more people who could still sign on. The complainants themselves have not made any public release or announcement, in compliance with Article VI, Section 2, Sub-Section a of the MDP bylaws.

Per the bylaws, Manhattan Democratic Party Chair Keith Wright has significant sway over the process via appointments to the Ethics Committee. All five members of the Ethics Committee are nominated by the Party Chair and then appointed by the County Committee or the MDP Executive Committee. The chair of Ethics is then chosen by the Party Chair from the five members.

After a complaint is received, the Ethics Committee Chair must “promptly mail or deliver by other means a copy of the complaint to each person or organization who is charged with a violation, unless the Chairperson determines that the complaint is so frivolous that it should be dismissed without further inquiry, in which case the full Committee shall be notified and may review the ruling of the Chairperson and direct that the complaint be mailed.”

Fifteen days after the complaint is sent to the respondent (First Vice-Chair James), the Ethics Committees “may, in its discretion, dismiss the complaint, issue a reprimand or admonition to respondent or schedule a hearing on the merits of the complaint.”

A hearing would be private and any final determination requires a majority vote of the Ethics Committee.

The Ethics Committee may also issue a public, or private, advisory opinion. A private advisory opinion would be treated as confidential by Ethics.

Local Manhattan Democrat Josh Arnon called for James’s resignation from her position as First Vice-Chair in the following statement:

“Mariama James’ promotion of election denialism, comparison of progressives to the KKK, and use of racial slurs should not be accepted by party leadership. New Yorkers voted for a democratic socialist mayor, and it is time for us to come together as a party in our shared fight against fascism. Calling all DSA members ‘incels’ sets us back from achieving that goal. I believe Mariama should resign from her position as First Vice-Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party.”

Will Mariama James be Re-Elected First Vice-Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party?

Another looming question is whether James will be re-elected to another term as First Vice-Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party. The term of their party officers runs from 2025-2027, so James could still have at least another year in office, even if she chose to not run again.

Several involved Democrats in Manhattan circles have been heard by State of the Left to say they believe James would not be able to win another term as MDP First Vice-Chair, but only time will tell.

James has not responded to a request for comment from State of the Left on if she intends to run for re-election or not.

Edited by: River Shi

Brooklyn Can’t Wait candidates won eight of the nine June primaries they contested, bringing the number of reform-aligned District Leaders to 22 out of 42 members—enough to oust Bichotte Hermelyn at the September re-organizational meeting.

But on Wednesday, Bichotte Hermelyn announced that she planned to expand the Executive Committee of the Kings County Democratic Party from 42 members to at least 68, granting voting rights to the 26 officers of the party who currently do not have these rights. These 26 officers happen to be Bichotte Hermelyn allies.

According to a source with internal knowledge of the party proceedings, the vote will take place at an Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. The incumbent DLs who lost their races to the reformers still hold office until their terms expire in September, meaning Bichotte Hermelyn has a lame duck majority. The source says that after the lame duck Executive Committee votes Bichotte Hermelyn the power to appoint the new Executive Committee members, the appointments themselves will then happen at a full county committee meeting between 9/16/26 and 10/6/26. Despite the full county committee being able to vote at that meeting, Bichotte Hermelyn is likely to win the vote due to hundreds of proxy votes she holds from other county committee members. Broadly speaking, many of these members rarely show up and have given their votes over to her. This is one of the tactics that has allowed Bichotte Hermelyn to maintain control over the party for the past six years. It is a tactic the reformers have previously attempted, and still pledge, to change as part of their reforms.

Bichotte Hermelyn said that the change would “increase the perception of inclusivity.” A convenient side effect of this change would be to guarantee Bichotte Hermelyn a supermajority on the Executive Committee and allow her to remain as Chair for another term, come September.

The backlash has been swift. Even key Bichotte Hermelyn ally, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, was not on the same page. On Wednesday evening Bichotte Hermelyn said in her Spectrum News interview that “We are working hand in hand with the minority leader.” By Thursday afternoon, Adam Daly of amNewYork had reported Jefferies did not support the move and was “surprised.”

AD 42 District Leader Josue Pierre also came out in opposition, but he is particularly noticeable as he is Bichotte Hermelyn’s cousin. Should the vote succeed, it is being widely speculated the reformers could sue.

District Leader 54-Elect Alan Gamboa called it an attempt to permanently consolidate power “Our coalition of reformers showed up for each other and fought hard to win 8 additional races across Brooklyn to finally gain a majority and bring an end to this corruption. This was explicit, it’s what we all campaigned on, and it’s what the voters of Brooklyn have resoundingly demanded. We knew the Chair would try something but the way she is angling to permanently consolidate power and completely disenfranchise the borough is even beyond what we had imagined. I hope she is able to be shamed away from attempting this. If not, we are ready to keep fighting by any means necessary. Brooklyn deserves better and Brooklyn can’t wait.”

State of the Left has compiled a comprehensive list of who has weighed in.

Elected Official and Organization Statements

Brooklyn Young Democrats- “This is a craven power grab and a slap in the face to Brooklyn Democrats who voted for change in June. Changing the rules after voters have spoken to cling to power is desperate, undemocratic and Trumpian. Democratic leaders in NYC and Albany must speak up. New Yorkers have repeatedly demanded leaders who live by their values and Democrats across NY must reject last-minute rule changes designed to override voters and say: enough is enough.”

Bay Ridge Democrats- “We need county leadership that commits itself towards building the Democratic Party, not one that evidently tries to cling to power in spite of recent election results. Bay Ridge Dems stand with the Brooklyn voters who sent a message and chose reform.”

New Kings Democrats- “This would be nothing short of an anti-democratic power grab by the party chair—changing the rules and packing the executive committee so she can overrule Brooklyn voters and hold on to her position. All Democrats should reject this as antithetical to the values of our party.”

Joint Statement from New York State Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams- “New Yorkers deserve leaders who are committed to serving their communities, not rewriting rules to hold onto power. Changing the makeup of an executive committee on the eve of a leadership vote goes against what we believe in as Democrats and should not move forward. Brooklyn Democrats deserve a process they trust.”

New York State Democratic Committee Chair Jay Jacobs- “The value of increasing participation by expanding representation on the Kings County Executive board may have its merits and deserves consideration, however, the timing of this change stands to do more damage than good. Any proposal to change the makeup of the Executive Committee of the Kings County Democratic Committee should be taken up at its regular Reorganization Meeting by the full County committee. The focus of the Committee should be to defeat Brooklyn’s various Republican elected officials presently aligned with the MAGA agenda of Donald Trump. Now is not the time for disunity.”

Kings County Democratic Party Chair Candidate Julio Pena III- “When a party boss throws out the party rules to overrule the result of an election, it echoes the same anti-democratic playbook we criticize from Republicans: consolidating power, limiting accountability, and treating voters as an obstacle rather than the foundation of democracy.”

New York City Councilmember Chi Osse- “Corrupt, anti-democratic, and utterly embarrassing. The Brooklyn Democratic Party deserves better leadership than whatever this is.”

New York City Councilmember Lincoln Restler- “Imagine House GOP not liking outcome of an election & appointing a bunch of hacks to permanent appointed seats to ignore the will of voters and preserve their illegal hold on power. That is what @AMBichotte & @bkdems are trying to do under our noses.Brooklyn deserves better.”

New York City Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso- “The Kings County Un-Democratic Party, folks. In a time of fascism, our local Democratic party leader is spending her time disenfranchising voters, attempting to undo the results of a democratic election, and desperately trying to hold onto power. A total embarrassment.”

New York City Councilmember Jen Gutierrez- We’ve been embarrassed enough.

@AMBichotte has been concerned about the future of the party for all of 2 seconds since we all got behind @JulioPenaNY. We don’t need audibles called to save face, we need a plan to save our democracy.”

New York City Councilmember Crystal Hudson- “Why worry about Republicans trying to steal elections in battleground states when we have Democrats stealing elections right here in Brooklyn? What a disgrace.”

New York City Councilmember Sandy Nurse- “You cannot claim to be the party that is saving Democracy from Trump when your house is full of petty authoritarians. Shame on all Dems who are complicit in this.”

New York State Senator SD 26 Andrew Gounardes- “This is on par with Trump trying to get states to overturn their election results in 2020 in a desperate attempt to hold onto power. This cannot move forward. @nydems should step in and shut this down.”

New York State Assemblymember AD 44 Robert Carroll- “Won’t work. Also, who would these extra 26 people be? Julio will be the next Kings County leader.”

New York State Assemblymember AD 50 Emily Gallagher- Voters elected district leaders to usher in change, so the BK Dem Chair is changing the rules of the game to hold onto power. Beyond shady.”

District Leader AD 42 Josue Pierre- “District Leaders are elected by the voters of their districts to represent the diverse communities and interests of Brooklyn. I will not support diluting that mandate by adding unelected voting members to the Executive Committee. Our party should respect the choices voters made at the ballot box. I will be voting no on this proposal.”

District Leader AD 51 Jacqui Painter- “This “reform” is just a blatant power grab and an insult to the BK Democrats who voted for change in June. Packing the Exec Committee & weakening elected DLs after voters have spoken is desperate, wrong, and extremely undemocratic. Dem NY leaders must reject this.”

District Leader AD 44-elect Emmitt Sklar- “This is bigger than Brooklyn. The chair’s attempt at an anti-democratic power grab will be deeply embarrassing for Democrats everywhere. Refusing to accept the results of a democratic election to stay in power goes against everything the party claims to believe in.”

Editing Credit: River Shi

State of the Left previously reported on Mariama James’ eyebrow-raising posts in the wake of her election loss.

James did not respond to SOTL’s earlier requests for comment, but did reply following the article’s publication on X, to cast doubt on the integrity of the election process: “My views are not affected by my loss bc that race went to someone who’s never done anything for the district and barely even campaigned or had anything on which to campaign. Ppl actually from the district know something shady is what lead to my loss.”

The full post:

James did not clarify what she meant by the phrase “something shady” in regards to her election loss, nor her attack on Sairitupac’s campaign.

Sairitupac’s campaign knocked 42,064 doors during the election, with contributions coming in from 209 in-district donors.

James has been assiduously spreading election denialism and conspiracies in New York, writing: “I saw a video of an AM radio news show here in NYC that said 7% of the ppl who voted in our election and voted for our current mayor do not exist and never existed. Another 6% according to this same show, had fake social security numbers.”

She further wrote that: “The ppl on the show said they were less there to prove Mamdani didn’t actually win and more so to prove that there’s a problem at NYS & NYC BOE but that Mamdani won by about 200K votes and they’ve already found 230K to be completely invalid and have another 1.9M to go through.”

James did not clarify which “show” she was referring to, and SOTL could not find any reputable reporting to back up her claims.

James’ baseless election denialism was reported last week in City & State’s Heard Around Town Newsletter. AFP Fact Check notes that much of the conservative furor around voter fraud in the election stemmed from clearly satirical Tiktoks riffing on the “6-7” meme.

Three Weeks on X with Mariama James

James’ election denialism is concerning, but fits with a pattern of amplifying obviously fake news and attacking those she has deemed her political enemies online.

In the last three weeks, she has:

• Called Massachusetts Congressmember Ayanna Pressley, who endorsed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, the below derogatory slur.

• Falsely claimed that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer withdrew her endorsement from US Congressmember Rashida Tlaib after Tlaib took foreign donations from pro-Palestine groups. Tlaib did not take foreign donations, and there are no records of Whitmer endorsing Tlaib in the first place, so an un-endorsement is not possible.

  James’s post received around 740 reposts with 76k views. It was then used as a primary source in at least one internet forum to continue promoting the false claim.

• Incorrectly doubled down on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s claim that Adolf Hitler was a “left wing socialist”, claiming that contemporary socialists are supporters of white supremacy. The full name of Adolf Hitler’s party was National Socialist German Workers’ Party—however, Hitler and the Nazi regime targeted socialists, social democrats, communists, and Jewish people, among numerous other groups. She continued arguing with people who tried to correct her on the matter.

• Called DSA members incels with a “weird look.”

  

• Stated that supporters of Zohran Mamdani and DSA members want to “go back to Jim Crow & Japanese ppl in internment camps” because of NYC Mayor Mamdani’s comments on restoring the Democratic Party to its New Deal, reform roots exemplified by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt and former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia.

  

• Reposted an X post stating the Democratic Party should distance itself from DSA and then “purge them.”

• Compared Progressives to the Ku Klux Klan.

  

• Following the victory of Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate Primary, James broadened her content to outside of New York—calling El-Sayed’s victory “leaving the front door open to home invasion,” labelling Maryland US Senator Chris Van Hollen “a bigot,” and saying that young black people voting for El-Sayed is due to older black people “not educating their children on the anti-Blackness and the harm of ‘uncommitted.’”

James’s posts have routinely attracted a smattering of users either attempting to correct her numerous falsehoods or other users utilizing similarly heated rhetoric.

Manhattan Democratic Party Bylaws in the Event of Officer Vacancies

James’ online conduct is concerning in both volume and content. Given her position as Manhattan Democrats’ First Vice-Chair, the question is: is this behavior acceptable for someone who could well become Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party—or indeed, for any party official?

According to Article II, Section 4, sub-section c of the Manhattan Democratic Party by-laws, in the event of “the absence of the Chairperson,” the First Vice-Chair would “preside at meetings of the County Committee in order of their designation.”

While the bylaws address vacancies in District Leadership positions, they do not seem to explicitly address sudden vacancies in Executive Committee officer roles. This means it is not clear if the First Vice-Chair would automatically ascend to Acting Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party or how soon, if at all, a special election would need to be held to determine a successor. While practices vary from county to county across New York State in the event of a sudden vacancy, it is not at all uncommon for First Vice-Chairs to become Acting or Interim Party Chair.

The current Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party is Keith Wright, 71. His son, Jordan Wright, is Chair of the Manhattan Young Democrats.

Manhattan Democratic Party Bylaws Ethics Subcommittee

According to Article VI, Section 1 of the by-laws, which function as a Statement of Principles under the ethics of the Manhattan Democrats, there is a broad expectation of inclusivity “The Democratic Party of the County of New York shall be inclusive of all persons, regardless of race, color, religion (creed) gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry) disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status.”

In the event an ethics complaint was filed with the party against James, the by-laws state it would be up to an ethics panel appointed by the Party Chair to make a ruling. There is little precedent to go off how a Democratic Party ethics panel would rule on a party officer using a derogetory racial slur, spreading fake news, insulting how other people appear, promoting election skepticism, or any of the other rhetoric James has used.

According to Article VI, section 2, sub-section a of the bylaws, “Any member of the Democratic Party of the County of New York may submit to the Committee on Ethics a written complaint alleging a sepcific violation of these Rules and Regulations.”

The Manhattan Democratic Party has not responded to repeated inquiries from State of the Left on James’s controversial social media postings in the last month.

Editing Credit: River Shi

Several notable establishment Democrats have tapped into identitarian sentiments to explain their steep losses, claiming DSA candidates are not representative of New York communities.

Those attacks were exemplified by Manhattan Democratic Party First Vice-Chair Mariama James, who recently came fifth in the race for Assembly District 65, 26 points behind DSA victor Illapa Sairitupac.

James’ semi-viral post says that DSA “members share a collective White supremacist I know better for you than you know for yourself mindset,”, and that DSA is anti-woman, anti-Jewish, anti-East Asian, and anti-Black. The Portland, Oregon DSA called the post “unhinged.”

In June, DSA elected 5 additional women (Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, Diana Moreno, Aber Kawas, Samantha Kattan), a queer Jewish person (David Orkin), and three black candidates (Darializa Avila Chevalier, Eon Huntley, Christian Celeste Tate). NYC-DSA has not publicly commented on James’ posts.

Mariama James did not respond to State of the Left’s multiple requests for comment.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards launched a similar attack last week, writing on X: “White Supremacy comes in all forms.” Richards was reposting an image from NY1 Anchor Errol Lewis in which Lewis posted a screenshot from a recent New York Times article that cites an unverified 2021 survey of DSA members claiming 85% of members were white. The DSA does not collect member data, and it is not clear what the other metrics of the alleged survey are.

Richards proceeded to share an image of Malcolm X with a quote about the dangers of “white liberals.”

Richards made two big endorsements in the 2026 election cycle: Antonio Reynoso against Claire Valdez in NY-7 and Steven Raga against Aber Kawas in State Senate District 12. Both of his candidates went on to lose in blowouts to their DSA-endorsed opponents.

When asked by State of the Left if he believes the DSA is a white supremacist organization, Richards never responded. Richards also did not respond when asked why he used a Malcolm X quote in attacking the Democratic Socialists of America, given Malcolm X was known to be highly critical of Capitalism.

Clare Collins

Clare Collins, a 25-year-old Filipino-American and volunteer for Steven Raga’s campaign for New York State Senate District 12, recently featured in a semi-viral video from America Listen, where she articulated her frustrations with DSA. Raga was defeated by DSA-endorsed Aber Kawas in SD-12 in western Queens by a margin of 20.8%.

Collins’ video echoes James’ and Richards’ attacks on DSA members:

“Ever since Mamdani got elected, it’s been moving very cult-like. It’s gotten a little culty—and I’m saying this as a blue hair, DSA member. Very white, privileged people, going into these communities of color and knocking on the doors and telling them, “You need to vote for this person, I know what’s best for you.” There were certain candidates they did not need to be running against that were very progressive and actually from those communities. Zohran’s not a god, he’s a politician. Hold him accountable, every step of the way. Don’t idolize any politician.”

It’s true that all politicians should be held accountable, but what about the other parts of her claim? Is DSA white and privileged, and is canvassing in a community white saviorism?

State of the Left reached Collins for an extensive phone interview, where she clarified that a key concern for her was that local communities should decide for themselves what they want. This, to her, is fundamentally at odds with canvassing outside of one’s district. Collins also added that while many DSA members may not be wealthy, they are mostly college-educated and able to move anywhere, unencumbered by their immigration status.

According to membership numbers sent in to Brian Lehrer’s radio show by NYC-DSA on July 24, 2026 and read on air, the city-wide chapter sits at around 50% people of color. The Bronx and Upper Manhattan branch (BUM) has 65% POC membership according to the figures. State of the Left has not independently reviewed these numbers or any other source document. Brian Lehrer reads the figures starting around 24:30 in the episode.

State of the Left would like to acknowledge that River Shi, a cadre DSA member and editor with State of the Left, edits under a pseudonym out of concern for their current immigration status amidst the Trump Administration’s federal crackdowns.

DSA endorsement processes and the Senate District 12 Campaign

Clare Collins made it clear many of her frustrations articulated in the video stem from the recent race between Aber Kawas and State Assemblymember Steven Raga in State Senate District 12.

Collins became a DSA member in 2025 and canvassed for Zohran’s mayoral campaign in 2025. While actively involved in community board meetings through her job with a local elected official, and on the board of a Filipino-American non-profit, she is not involved in her local DSA chapter or working groups, and has not voted in any DSA endorsement processes, which are open to all members in good standing.

Collins feels that DSA should have endorsed Raga because he is a DSA member who had been previously elected in the community, and expressed frustration, feeling that DSA “only trust the people that have been in their organization for a very long time to receive the endorsement.”

She also noted that Raga is the only Filipino ever elected in the state of New York, to any office. “[His office is] the only government office that gives services in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines. I don’t know where those constituents are gonna get help now.”

Heavily-involved Queens DSA member Sara Abiboutrous, who voted to endorse Aber Kawas, said she supported Kawas based on her track record, and expressed concern with Raga’s early lack of support for Not on Our Dime.

“I put my support behind Aber because her track record earned my trust. She has taken positions that are morally correct but politically unpopular, and that type of selflessness is important to voters. She helped draft Not On Our Dime with then Assemblyman Mamdani. It’s important to elect leaders who have that courage. Unfortunately, the candidate she was running against seemed to lack the bold leadership we need right now.

He declined to sponsor Not On Our Dime as an Assemblyman and defended that position as he sought endorsements from progressive organizations that championed the bill. He finally chose to sponsor it during the primary and it seemed more for his own political gain. That switcharoo, combined with also voting for the Casino in Queens, left people wondering what he even stood for. ”

Assemblymember Raga did not return State of the Left’s request for comment.

Making Sense of the Election Results

Collins pointed to a myriad of factors in her explanation of the June results, in which communities across New York chose to vote for NYC-DSA candidates by overwhelming margins:

• low voter turnout (particularly in NY-7 and among lower-income constituents in SD-12)

• low awareness

• waning union influence (particularly in SD-12). “I think in this particular race, those people weren’t voting. For whatever reason, they did not vote.”

State of the Left was unable to verify Collins’ claims that: NY-7 saw historically low voter turnout; that Steven Raga received over 50 union endorsements; and that union members did not vote in SD-12 or across New York.

Clare Collins said she is a member of DC37 and is about to begin her masters at the CUNY School of Labor, a decision “largely informed by the result of this race.”

What Does the Future Hold for DSA and New York Politics?

Looking at the words of Mariama James, Donovan Richards, and Clare Collins together, there is a mixture of anger and confusion as different factions, groups, and types of people try to make sense of NYCDSA’s overwhelming victories on June 23, 2026.

Figures of the Democratic Establishment like James and Richards are lashing out as their place in the political system as ideologically conservative Democrats becomes increasingly untenable in the new political reality. In the case of Mariama James, her ascendency to Assemblymember was literally blocked by Illapa Sairitupac, and three other candidates who collected more votes than her.

Clare Collins presents a more nuanced case, where someone who signed up to pay DSA dues with an affinity for another paper DSA member ended up on the opposite side of a DSA-endorsed candidate.

Ultimately, when asked if she felt that the attacks on the DSA were productive or warranted, Collins said: “Probably not. I’m sure it would be in the best interest of the Republican Party if the Democratic Party moved more moderate, like they did in the last election, so they lose again.”

It is not clear where people like Collins will land in the future, with the establishment or with DSA. What is clear, however, is that DSA has emerged as an electoral force mobilizing a genuinely massive coalition within Democratic primaries on a scale New York politics has not seen in many decades, if ever.

I was proud to support the full slate of DSA candidates in Sunnyside, doing 2 turfs there while going on to knock around 1000 doors across the whole City. On a rainy Sunday in mid-April on my first turf of the cycle in Sunnyside, one of my first conversations was an older man who was a member of the local Carpenters union. My canvassing partner from Jewish Voices for Peace, Jordan, was with me as we were the first canvassers to be out speaking to these voters, and we had a lovely conversation with the union member. I stressed how deeply Claire, Aber, and Samantha care for unions and how they will work to support greater union density and union empowerment. We spoke about many subjects and he committed to vote for all of our candidates without too much convincing, to be honest. He was simply happy to see younger people who cared so passionately, trying to make the world a better place with Democratic Socialist principles that actually made a lot of sense. I cannot know if he actually ended up voting or not. But if he did, I am certain it was for us.

I am also certain Clare Collins, and perhaps others who share her convictions, may have strong feelings reading these words. After all, I don’t live in Queens. Why should I have been canvassing there? It is a fair point, and here is my answer.

This world is on fire. Headed towards a dark and unsustainable future unless we drastically change course, and quickly.

This campaign saw legitimate villains like Jenifer Rajkumar. There were also candidates like Antonio Reynoso or Steven Raga who, in my view, are not bad people, but actively good people. They simply would not go as hard against the increasingly powerful special interests suffocating our society in pursuit of their various nefarious goals.

As Queens DSA member Sara Abiboutrous said: “This idea that candidates and politicians are owed endorsements or votes is opposite to how a democracy should function. It’s pretty clear that voters across the country want leaders who are authentic and who are capable of being courageous leaders. Aber proved she fit that criteria.”

With Antonio Reynoso, we would’ve had a well-intentioned guy who might consider the viewpoints of the worst special interests of our time, or consider endorsing other far less Progressive Democrats for important seats in the future, before making a decision. For those special interests and untrustworthy individuals, Claire Valdez is an absolute brick wall. I believe she, and the rest of the victorious DSA slate, will lead us in opposing these forces at all costs—and there is no greater battle of our time.

While I respect Clare Collins’s perspective, there is no way I will be on the sidelines as the future of our country, and our very world, is determined. I committed hundreds of votes to the DSA slate in 2026 across the city. Regardless of where I was from, or what my demographic identity is, every one of those voters were just happy someone, anyone, CARED.

This upcoming weekend, my NYC-DSA comrades and I are traveling to Detroit, Michigan to canvass, combating AIPAC’s obscene tens of millions of dark money funds against Abdul El-Sayed and Donovan McKinney. When it comes to making a better world, nobody said it better than Christian Celeste Tate at Nowadays last Friday at NYC-DSA’s victory party: “If we wait for somebody to bring that world to us…we will never see it.”

So, the next canvass awaits. And maybe, just maybe, Clare Collins will be at our side for it. We would be lucky to have her.

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Editing Credit: River Shi

Writing Credit: River Shi

Thank you River!

Released Monday, the letter was addressed to Senate Minority Leader Schumer and House Minority Leader Jefferies following the recent murders of two immigrant fathers, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Guerrero, at the hands of ICE.

After naming other victims murdered by ICE, and describing cruel or illegal offenses committed by the agency during the second term of US President Donald Trump, the letter writes that abolishing ICE is a matter of ensuring public trust and rule of law: “For the safety of our constituents and to restore public trust and the rule of law, we call on you and all congressional Democrats to publicly support the abolition of ICE and to leverage your positions to defund and dismantle this rogue federal agency.”

Per a PBS story, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed on July 10, 2026 while driving his construction crew to a work site in Houston, TX after ICE agents stopped his vehicle looking for someone else. Joan Sebastian Guerrero was killed in Biddeford, Maine on July 13, 2026. ICE agents were not seeking him out when they stopped his vehicle, leading to the murder, per a CNN article.

The two deaths have triggered yet another wave of national outrage and protests against ICE, renewing scrutiny of where congressional Democrats stand on abolishing or reforming ICE from the Democratic base. According to a public “Abolish ICE Tracker,” only 32 Democrats in the US House of Representatives currently support abolishing ICE. Neither Minority Leader Schumer or House Minority Leader Jefferies have come out in favor of abolishing ICE.

Moreno, Salazar, Hanif, and their office staff took the lead on organizing the letter and securing the sign-ons from across the state. The full list of electeds who signed on is below.

Julia Salazar- State Senator, District 18

Diana Moreno- State Assemblymember, District 36

Shahana Hanif- NYC Councilmember, District 39

Michael Gianaris- State Senate Deputy Majority Leader

Jessica Ramos- State Senator, District 13

Zellnor Myrie- State Senator, District 20

Jabari Brisport- State Senator, District 25

Andrew Gounardes- State Senator, District 26

José Serrano- State Senator, District 29

Robert Jackson- State Senator, District 31

Luis Sepúlveda- State Senator, District 32

Gustavo Rivera- State Senator, District 33

Nathalia Fernandez- State Senator, District 34

Patricia Fahy- State Senator, District 46

Samra Brouk- State Senator, District 55

Jeremy Cooney- State Senator, District 56

Kristen Gonzalez- State Senator, District 59

Michaelle Solages- State Assemblymember, District 22

Steven Raga- State Assemblymember, District 30

Khaleel Anderson- State Assemblymember, District 31

Jessica González-Rojas- State Assemblymember, District 34

Claire Valdez- State Assemblymember, District 37

Catalina Cruz- State Assemblymember, District 39

Ron Kim- State Assemblymember, District 40

Robert Carroll- State Assemblymember, District 44

Emily Gallagher- State Assemblymember, District 50

Marcela Mitaynes- State Assemblymember, District 51

Maritza Davila- State Assemblymember, District 53

Phara Souffrant Forrest- State Assemblymember, District 57

Grace Lee- State Assemblymember, District 65

Manny De Los Santos- State Assemblymember, District 72

Alex Bores- State Assemblymember, District 73

Keith Powers- State Assemblymember, District 74

Tony Simone- State Assemblymember, District 75

Rebecca Seawright- State Assemblymember, District 76

George Alvarez- State Assemblymember, District 78

Amanda Septimo- State Assemblymember, District 84

Emérita Torres- State Assemblymember, District 85

Yudelka Tapia- State Assemblymember, District 86

Karines Reyes- State Assemblymember, District 87

MaryJane Shimsky- State Assemblymember, District 92

Dana Levenberg- State Assemblymember, District 95

Sarahana Shrestha- State Assemblymember, District 103

Gabriella Romero- State Assemblymember, District 109

Jonathan Rivera- State Assemblymember, District 149

Shaun Abreu- NYC Council Majority Leader

Nantasha Williams- NYC Council Deputy Speaker

Christopher Marte- NYC Councilmember, District 1

Harvey Epstein- NYC Councilmember, District 2

Carl Wilson- NYC Councilmember, District 3

Virginia Maloney- NYC Councilmember, District 4

Gale Brewer- NYC Councilmember, District 6

Elsie Encarnación- NYC Councilmember, District 8

Carmen De La Rosa- NYC Councilmember, District 10

Shirley Aldebol- NYC Councilmember, District 13

Pierina Sanchez- NYC Council Member, District 14

Althea Stevens- NYC Councilmember, District 16

Justin Sanchez- NYC Councilmember, District 17

Amanda Farías- NYC Councilmember, District 18

Tiffany Cabán- NYC Councilmember, District 22

Shekar Krishnan- NYC Councilmember, District 25

Julie Won- NYC Councilmember, District 26

Ty Hankerson- NYC Councilmember, District 28

Lincoln Restler- NYC Councilmember, District 33

Jennifer Gutiérrez- NYC Councilmember, District 34

Crystal Hudson- NYC Councilmember, District 35

Chi Ossé- NYC Councilmember, District 36

Sandy Nurse- NYC Councilmember, District 37

Alexa Avilés- NYC Councilmember, District 38

Rita Joseph- NYC Councilmember, District 40

Kayla Santosuosso- NYC Councilmember, District 47

Alexandria Wojcik- Village of New Paltz Mayor

Rob Cantelmo- Mayor of Ithaca

Kristofer Munn- Asst. Majority Leader, Dutchess County Legislature

Abe Uchitelle- Majority Leader, Ulster County Legislature

Lisa Kaul- Dutchess County Legislator, District 6

Alix Winsby- Dutchess County Legislator, District 14

Carolyn D. Hoffman- Monroe County Legislator, District 25

Maurice Brown- Onondaga County Legislator, District 15

Genesis Ramos- Orange County Legislator, District 6

Stephen Hunter- Orange County Legislator, District 16

Greg McCollough- Ulster County Legislator, District 6

Veronica Pillar- Tompkins County Legislator, District 2

Jorge DeFendini- Ithaca Common Councilmember, Ward 1

Kathy Nolan- Ulster County Legislator, District 22

Ducson Nguyen- Ithaca Common Councilmember, Ward 2

Kayla Matos- Ithaca Common Councilmember, Ward 1

Michael Tierney- Kingston Alderman, Ward 2

Hannah Shvets- Ithaca Common Councilmember, Ward 5

Giselle Martinez- Newburgh City Councilmember, Ward 1

Michele Hirsch- Kingston Alderwoman, Ward 9

Evan Menist- Poughkeepsie Common Councilmember, Ward 2

Ernest Henry- Poughkeepsie Common Councilmember, Ward 1

Daniel Atonna- Poughkeepsie Common Councilmember, Ward 8

Ondie James- Poughkeepsie Common Councilmember, Ward 5

Mary Lupien- Rochester City Councilmember, East District

Stanley Martin- Rochester City Councilmember, At-large

Natalya Lakhtakia- Board of Education President, Saratoga Springs City School District

Greg Campbell-Cohen- Troy City Councilmember, District 6

Emma Arnoff- Dutchess County Legislator, District 2

Joseph Donaldson- Ulster County Legislator, District 8

Paloma Wake- Beacon City Councilmember, At-Large

Nate Hotchkiss- Binghamton City Councilmember, District 4

Claire Cousin- Hudson Common Councilmember, Ward 5

Nedra Patterson-Thompson- Poughkeepsie Common Councilmember, Ward 7

Tamika Stewart- Newburgh City Councilmember, Ward 3

Andrew Zink- Village of Saugerties Board Trustee

Editing Credit: River Shi

Thank you River!

Primary election day in New York may be almost a month past, but the grassroots left just added another win to their column, with David Siffert declaring victory in the race for New York’s 66th Assembly District on Manhattan’s Lower West Side last Wednesday.

On election night, Siffert was 56 votes behind Community Board 2 Chair, Jeannine Kiely, who was endorsed by outgoing assemblymember Deborah Glick. The recount declared Siffert the winner by just 15 votes, with a final tally of 17,172 votes cast.

Siffert attributed the win to the grassroots nature of the campaign. “I literally wore a hole through my shoe walking the district. This campaign didn’t just go door-to-door. It went park-to-park, community meeting-to-community meeting, and living room-to-living room. It was a true grassroots operation.”

A civil rights lawyer, founding Executive Director of NYU’s State Government Initiative, NYU professor, and lifelong Manhattanite, Siffert was endorsed by a broad coalition of entities and figures, including local Democratic clubs, The Jewish Vote, New York Progressive Action Network, Our Revolution, State Senator Jabari Brisport, and State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher.

While they were not endorsed by the NYC-DSA, they were a founding member of the Invest in Our New York coalition, which calls for more taxes on corporations and expanded investments in social services. Additionally, Siffert attended the Tax the Rich rally in Albany on February 25, 2026, aiming to pressure Governor Hochul to support many of the platform planks in the Invest in Our New York package.

In a statement, Siffert told State of the Left one of their top legislative priorities is housing.

“We have to figure out how to make housing more affordable. There isn’t a silver bullet to solve that problem, but the state needs to take a much more active role in the process, including building social housing and increasing voucher funding, rather than simply leaving it to private developers and hoping the free market trickles down. We need to protect New Yorkers from a cruel federal government hellbent on hurting the most vulnerable among us. Making New York a sanctuary state is a good start. And we need to get serious about regulating AI and big tech. As AI evolves, its impact grows exponentially, and we need laws to protect our privacy, civil rights, education system, environment, and jobs, and ultimately to protect against catastrophic risks. These laws exist; we just need to pass them.”

Manhattan political analyst Josh Arnon said Siffert’s win is a testament to the electorate’s desire for more Progressive candidates and platforms. “As one of the writers of the Invest In Our New York package, David will be a strong ally in the fight to tax the rich. Only a couple years ago, even with WFP’s or DSA’s backing, it would have been widely viewed as a tough race for David to run against Deborah Glick’s handpicked successor. It goes to show the hunger by New Yorkers for more progressive candidates that they won without endorsements by WFP, DSA, Bernie, Zohran, or AOC against both the establishment pick and WFP’s candidate.”

Editing Credit: River Shi

Thank you River!

Carson died in Brooklyn on October 2, 2023, after being randomly assaulted. Morales was present, called 911 immediately, and cooperated fully with law enforcement authorities. The assailant was later sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Around 22 months later, Morales posted a photo during the 2025 election cycle with then-Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Unprovoked, Paladino reposted the photo to X, and falsely claimed Morales did not immediately call police and did not cooperate with the investigation because she “likely” wanted to “ensure the murderer walked free” due to her political beliefs. Paladino made no attempt to provide evidence for her false claims.

Following Paladino’s post, Morales faced a “sustained harassment campaign” from the Councilwoman’s supporters.

The lawsuit follows Paladino settling a case with the City Council after being charged with disorderly conduct for posting sweeping, discriminatory statements targeting Muslims in New York.

Ryan Thoresen Carson

Ryan Carson grew up in East Bridgewater, MA and attended college at Pratt Institute. He was a poet, musician, and dedicated activist. Making the world a better place was his life’s work.

Ryan worked with New York Public Interest Research Group on environmental advocacy and founded the NO OD NY campaign, which aimed to end overdose deaths in New York State by creating Safe Injection Facilities, “where people who use opioids can access life-saving medical care, connect to social workers and resources within their communities, and be treated with respect.” He also raised funds for an awareness walk for the initiative from NYC to Albany. Ryan’s passion for opioid overdose activism came following the death of his friend, Eli Todd, in 2016.

New Paltz Village Mayor Alexandria Wojcik knew Ryan Carson from their work together at NYPIRG years before his death.

When reached for comment, she said the following: “Ryan would have wanted us to turn the grief we all feel since his tragic murder into an opportunity to advocate for mental health services and housing for all – and would have hoped we all, especially Claudia, could have some space to feel all the feelings that go with losing a dear friend in such a horrific way. As an activist-in-elected-office, I am sickened by Paladino’s use of my friend’s murder to promote her MAGA right wing agenda, and her reckless decision to put survivors in harm’s way via these public statements.”

Asked about Ryan, she referenced his kindness, Progressive politics, and his work on NoODNY “Ryan was a poet, both in reality and in the way he carried himself. He was kind. Truly a good person. I miss him a lot. Ryan’s politics were progressive, always inclusive, always about casting a wider net, keeping the spectrum of allies in mind.

Ryan made New Paltz a stop on his hike across the state to bring attention to the overdose crisis and to put pressure on decision makers to work towards real solutions such as overdose prevention centers, and like with everything Ryan did, we found a way to make our No OD event include the DIY punk scene. It was a beautiful, uplifting, respectful, and I think impactful event. Attendees got Narcan trained, heard some powerful words, danced to some awesome folk punk tunes, spoke with our County Sheriff about harm reduction, and left feeling like we all made a difference. That’s how Ryan always showed up in every space.”

In reading about Ryan’s life and death, none struck me as deeply as an essay read aloud by Claudia on the two year anniversary of Ryan’s death, at Herbert Von King Park.

Reading it made me feel as if I knew him. As if I could look over and seamlessly slip into a conversation about what remedies are needed to address the world’s ills or how to best roll up a J. Like I could imagine being up late into the night, drinking in all the world has to offer with him. It would seem…this is simply who he was. Someone able to bring out the best in all of us. None of us can do this essay justice, so I encourage you to read it for yourself when you have some time to take it in.

In the meantime, I hope these words suffice.

Ryan Carson was a Marxist-Leninist for who making the world a better place was not a hobby, but an obligation. Ryan met that obligation through a variety of ways. He canvassed, protested, marched, and sang.

However, perhaps his greatest asset to the cause of advancing Democratic Socialist principles of liberation and justice was his joy for life. It seems Ryan could make anyone believe the hope of a better tomorrow was worth fighting for by tangibly taking action, and then guiding people on that journey.

Achieving this is a rare gift. It’s someone who can ask you to take a leap of faith outside your comfort zone, while simultaneously making you feel confident they will be at your side the whole way. An ability to not just inspire, but then tangibly organize and instill trust along the way.

Will we ever know how many Ryan Carson mobilized in the pursuit of a brighter future for people they may never know? How many did Ryan Carson inspire to look within themselves to try something scary and new, but exhilarating after they gave it a shot? Even now, years after his passing, a writer who never knew Ryan Carson sits here having read about this person and asks: “What more can I do, how much more of life can I pack into my tomorrow?”

The people that Ryan showed how to believe in themselves in ways they didn’t yet know how, remain. In hearing his story, their numbers may even grow. We will never know how many came back to the next event because that particularly generous person left them with such a positive impression last time. We will never know how many of them became Zohran 2025 canvassers, NYC-DSA 2026 phone-bankers, or activists in their own unique, equally important ways.

It is through those people, who were likely at victory parties across the city just this past June 23rd, 2026, that Ryan was with us all that night. It is through those people and through all of us each and everyday, in the heart, soul, and very essence of this movement, Ryan Thoresen Carson will forever remain.

Edited By: River Shi

State of the Left first discovered Brooklyn Buzz after the site published an anti-DSA op-ed that was circulated in a local Bed-Stuy Facebook group. The op-ed was seemingly posted to the site by a reporter named Bill Harris, but there is no other biographical information of Harris as a reporter available anywhere on the site. The op-ed was posted with the following editor’s note: “The following Op-Ed was submitted by a concerned African American homeowner in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The views expressed are those of the author. Submitted by Jon S. Bed-Stuy Homeowner.” Given this context, the cover image of the op-ed showing a group of primarily young, white people gives an unspoken impression the location is in Bed-Stuy. In actuality, the cover image shows Radigast Hall & Biergarten in northern Williamsburg. The op-ed mostly lacks tangible specifics while citing a dubiously reported article about NY-10 Democratic Congressional Nominee Brad Lander, who is not an endorsed DSA candidate, from another JIG Media-owned site, East New York.Com.

Brooklyn Buzz lists 2-3 different reporters’ names for stories, but no other information is available about any of them. In one article, the author is listed as Sam Whitaker, but after scrolling to the bottom of the page, a graphic is included with Bill Harris’s name creating confusion as to who is responsible for the content.

The vast majority of the stories are written by someone only listed as “LU.” Stories written by LU contain a small graphic at the bottom of the articles reading “Lucille has 6 years as an editor, covering evertyhing from dining, community issues, politics and health. She writes for NYC News Network and its affiliates.” Otherwise, there is no other accessible information about the editor, reporters, or their backgrounds. Additionally, Brooklyn Buzz does not have time stamps for article publications on the articles themsleves, so readers cannot know exactly when a piece was published if they do not look at an article on the website’s home page. All that is shown is a generalized time stamp with one example reading “Edited 2 Weeks Ago.”

Throughout March, April, May, and June of the 2026 Democratic Primary elections, Brooklyn Buzz was running positive, promotional stories about all three of those candidates.

NYS District 59 Assemblymember Jaime Williams

NYS Assemblymember Jaime Williams paid $10,050.00 to JIG Media for “Online Ads” and “Text Messages.”

Brooklyn Buzz published four positive promotional articles about Jaime Williams and another article about Williams claiming she was under attack from “allegations and political attacks.” Williams was challenged for her seat by community organizer Jibreel Jilloh in the primary election, but the article never mentioned who William’s opponent was or what the specific statements were. Instead, the article linked to a “press release published via NYC Newswire” where Williams called out Jalloh by name and asked the public for support. NYC Newswire is a different website from both NYC News Network, Brooklyn Buzz and East New York.Com, but appears to be owned by JIG Media as well. After Williams submitted the press release to NYC Newswire, Brooklyn Buzz proceeded to run the article with the press release as the source document. After reciting the press release’s claims and portraying Williams as a victim of smears, the article pivots to a “What Happens Next” section in which election day is listed as June 23 and says Williams is “encouraging supporters and residents” to vote. However, by not writing out who Williams’s opponent is or what the details of the claims against are, readers have no way of deciding anything for themselves without taking the hyperlink to the Williams press release. The article does not claim to have reached out to Jibreel Jalloh for comment.

Jaime Williams did not respond for comment to State of the Left on what specific services her campaign received from JIG Media. She went on to win her primary against Jalloh by a double digit margin.

Jibreel Jalloh declined to comment on this story.

NYS District 56 Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman

According to New York State campaign finance records, NYS Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman paid $6K to JIG Media for “Campaign Workers’ Salaries.”

Brooklyn Buzz published eleven positive promotional pieces about Stefani Zinerman during the election cycle. The most noteworthy article recaps an April eviction arrest where NYC Councilmember Chi Osse was arrested by NYPD officers while protesting the eviction of a constituent, Carmella Charrington, in Bed-Stuy. Despite the episode revolving around Carmella Charrington and Chi Osse as a result of their presence at the scene, neither Charrington nor Osse are mentioned in the Brooklyn Buzz article. Instead, the article links to a Stefani Zinerman press release published via NYC Newswire (the same JIG Media-owned site that published the previously referenced Jaime Williams press release) where she “Demands Answers on Eviction Incident.” In summing up the press release, Zinerman is portrayed as the only figure in the article taking action on the issue of eviction cases and housing enforcement, calling for “accountability and transparency regarding how the NYPD handled the situation.”

None of the pieces about Stefani Zinerman ever mentioned that she had a DSA-backed Democratic primary opponent named Eon Huntley. Huntley was endorsed by both Chi Osse and ran on the New Kings Democrats slate alongside Charrington. Osse is a city councilmember “Socialist in Office” which means he works directly with the NYC-DSA. Charrington ran as part of the New Kings Democrats reform slate of District Leader challengers. Carmella Charrington and Omar Hardy unseated both incumbent AD-56 District Leaders, Henry Butler and Kenesha Traynham-Cooper, while Eon Huntley defeated Stefani Zinerman in a blowout victory for Assemblymember. This context, combined with Chi Osse having been the person arressted and Carmella Charrington being the actual evictee herself, makes the omission of Osse and Charrington from the Brooklyn Buzz news article especially glaring.

Zinerman went on to lose to Huntley in a blowout, double digit defeat. Stefani Zinerman did not respond for comment to State of the Left on what specific services her campaign received from JIG Media.

Kings County Civil Court Judicial Candidate (6th Municipal District) Michelle DeSouza

Kings County Civil Court Judicial Candidate (6th Municipal District) Michelle DeSouza paid JIG $13,806.26 for “Campaign Literature” and “Campaign Consultant.”

Brooklyn Buzz published four positive promotional pieces about Michelle DeSouza. One article touts endorsements from Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and a slate of centrist Democratic District Leaders and Assemblymembers. DeSouza went on to lose her primary race for Kings County Civil Court to Janice Purvis by around twelve points. Purvis was backed by a number of Progressive figures and entities such as the New York Working Families Party and Democratic Socialist in Office Shahana Hanif.

JIG Media

Most recently, JIG Media launched Canarsie News on June 15, 2026 and Voices of NYC around the same time, but an exact date cannot be confirmed due to lack of a date stamp. According to a press release, that means JIG Media’s digital publications include BrooklynBuzz.com, EastNewYork.com, ClintonHill.com, HealthyNYC.com, NYCPolitics.com, EATandDrinkNYC.com, HerPowerNetwork.com, NYCEducationNews.com, and NYCSportsNetwork.com.

JIG Media advertises itself as “a New York City-based media and communications company that helps organizations reach the people who matter most through a unique combination of digital publishing, strategic communications, and targeted audience engagement. Unlike traditional marketing agencies that rely primarily on advertising and social media, JIG Media built its own digital media ecosystem to help businesses, nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, educational institutions, community organizations, government agencies, and political campaigns communicate directly with New Yorkers. At the center of that ecosystem are NYC Newswire® and NYC News Network®.”

The leadership of JIG Media is listed under an “About” section on the NYC News Network site. The CEO is listed as Vernon Jones, Senior Vice-President as Wayne Jordan, Political Director and Managing Partner as Eric Blackwell, Managing Partner- NYC College Sports as Micheal Bellamy, and Cal Jones as Managing Partner - EATandDrink.NYC.

CEO Vernon Jones’s Comments on State of the Left’s Press Inquiries

When asked directly by State of the Left if political campaigns can pay for editorial placement in Brooklyn Buzz, CEO Vernon Jones said no “Campaigns cannot pay for editorial placement in Brooklyn Buzz. Paid political clients purchase guaranteed publication on NYC Newswire, which includes the required “Paid for by” disclaimer, as stated on the JIG Media About page, and Campaign Policy page.”

When asked why there were no other stories ever run that covered, or even mentioned, the opponents of JIG Media clients Stefani Zinerman, Jaime Williams, and Michelle DeSouza, Jones answered that he did not know definitively “I can’t speculate as to why there were no stories about other candidates, one way or the other. It’s also possible those campaigns never submitted announcements or press releases to NYC Newswire, which is one of the main sources from which writers may identify story ideas. I simply don’t know what information was or was not submitted regarding those campaigns.

When asked if he could confirm who the editor of Brooklyn Buzz is and if they oversee publication decisions, Jones declined to discuss “I’m not involved in the day-to-day editorial operations, and I don’t discuss our internal staffing structure or editorial workflow.”

When asked to clarify exactly what services were provided to Zinerman, Williams, and DeSouza, Jones declined to discuss client engagements “As a matter of company policy, we do not comment on the details of client engagements, internal staffing, or internal business operations beyond the information we make publicly available through our website and required public disclosures.” However, Jones went on to clarify some of what paying campaign clients can receive “As outlined in those policies, NYC Newswire provides publication services on a non-exclusive basis to qualifying political campaigns regardless of political party or affiliation. Announcements and press releases published on behalf of paying campaign clients include a clear "Paid for by" disclosure in accordance with our transparency policies. As explained on our About page, publication through NYC Newswire does not guarantee editorial coverage by NYC News Network publications.”

When asked if JIG Media does the physical printing of campaign literature and campaign mailers, or support paid canvassing operations, Jones said they only provide graphics work “We provide graphics work for palm cards and posters for clients, including campaign clients. I believe our About page has information in regards to the services we offer. We have nothing to do with campaign canvassing, field work or anything of that nature. We do not provide any services pertaining to mailers. I assume they might use some of our graphics work for their campaign mailers but we do not involve ourselves in mailing services or what they send out.”

When compared to the expenses reported by Zinerman, Williams, and DeSouza, Jones’s answers are not able to provide definitive clarity on the campaign services those campaigns received. Additionally, without comment from the campaigns, participants in the political process are left to guess exactly which expenses went for which services.

State of the Left will update this article if responses are received.

“I was asked what are my thoughts when I’m asked about DSA:

The organization itself based on its own data is over 85% White, mostly male and mostly wealthy. I’ll add to that the members share a collective White supremacist I know better for you than you know for yourself mindset. They didn’t listen to the ppl of Palestine in 2024 who wanted them to support Kamala Harris nor did they listen to Black ppl here who told them what a Trump reelection would mean for BIPOC and other marginalized communities and they didn’t listen to us in 2016 either and we ended up with a conservative SCOTUS that’s now stripping us of our constitutional rights one at a time. They are racist, anti-Black, anti-semitic, anti-East Asian non-Democrats who follow the teachings of a registered Independent who’s never passed any legislation and is the senator of the literal Whitest state in the union. They have no clue what middle, working and low income Americans need because those labels have never applied to them and if they really cared about POC, they would amplify our movements rather than try to force theirs upon us.”

James lists herself as Manhattan Dems Vice Chair on her Twitter account and this is confirmed on the MDP website. She is also listed as a District Leader for AD 65 on the District Leader webpage. James lost the recent primary election on 6/23/26 for Lower Manhattan’s 65th State Assembly District to NYC-DSA backed Illapa Sairitupac. She finished fifth of six candidates running. When asked for comment on if her recent loss to a DSA candidate had anything to do with her feelings towards DSA, James did not respond for comment.

James did not respond for comment on what her source is for DSA membership statistics, as DSA itself reportedly does not closely track member demographic data, according to a DSA source. She did not cite her sources for her claim that Palestinian people wished for American citizens to cast their votes for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. James gave no definitive rationale to explain how DSA is “over 85% White, mostly male and mostly wealthy” or “racist, anti-Black, anti-semitic, anti-East Asian.” In one of her comments on the post, she posted a picture of a Fox News graphic with a breakdown of alleged DSA membership numbers by race from five years ago. It appears James attempted to crop the graphic to obscure the source being Fox News.

The most recent primary elections in New York City on June 23rd, 2026 yield data refuting her claims. According to recent analysis by Michael Lange, DSA-endorsed Claire Valdez won every age bracket and racial group in New York’s 7th Congressional District while Darializa Avila Chevalier won black voters in the 13th District’s Harlem. According to Lange, the most predictive factor taken away from these results is less about race and more about age. This is consistent with broadly accepted knowledge from on the ground dynamics of these races.

The post faced significant blowback, with hundreds of comments and quote tweets in opposition to her remarks.

Neither the Manhattan Democratic Party or the NYC-DSA Press Office responded for comment. This story will be updated if comment is received.