NYC-DSA Plans Tax The Rich Campaign + Mamdani’s Opponents Bicker
No. 435 | Monday, July 14, 2025
The Thorn is published weekly by the Electoral Working Group of the NYC Democratic Socialists of America.
Join the Electoral Working Group!
Local News
City & State released an article that details NYC-DSA’s potential plans to run a massive advocacy campaign to support Mamdani’s goals of raising taxes on the rich.
ICE dramatically accelerated arrests in NYC in May and June, according to a recent FOIL request. Detention factilities in downtown Manhattan are in reportedly poor condition and are routinely violating the legal and human rights of their detainees.
Mayor Adams may be slowing down or canceling the installation of a major new busway project on 34th Street in Manhattan.
A Brooklyn woman attacked by a mob in Crown Heights outside of a speech given by Itamar Ben Gvir is filing a claim against the NYPD, accusing them of failing to protect her amidst unfair treatment of pro-Palestinian protestors.
If elected mayor in November, Zohran Mamdani is considering keeping Jessica Tisch as Police Commissioner at the urging of business leaders and Democratic establishment figures. Mamdani is also reportedly receiving advice from veterans of the De Blasio administration as he considers a potential mayoral transition.
The City Council is planning to pass legislation that mandates that the NYC Department of Corrections informs the media of inmate deaths on Rikers Island. The DOC stopped informing the press of these deaths in 2023.
Some real estate brokers are still charging renters a broker fee, even though they were made illegal with the passage of the FARE Act earlier this year.
Election News
Andrew Cuomo seems to intend to launch a formal campaign to run as an independent in the general election for mayor this November.
Eric Adams, also running as an independent, accused Cuomo of privately urging him to drop out of the race so that the anti-Mamdani field can consolidate around Cuomo. Adams has refused. Adams lost another attempt to claim public matching funds for his campaign.
Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa has also refused to drop out to consolidate around Cuomo or Adams. The City Council’s Republican Minority Caucus released an endorsement of Sliwa which may violate the City Charter.
Council Member Chi Ossé (District 36, Bed Stuy) released a statement promising to support a challenger to Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman (District 56, Bed Stuy), citing her opposition to new housing development in the neighborhood. Ossé did not support Eon Huntley’s NYC-DSA endorsed campaign against Zinerman in 2024, which lost by about 500 votes.
The NYC Local
Our chapter's labor newsletter, The Local, arrives every other week with a focus on labor organizing, bargaining, and local legislation that impacts NYC's workers. Give them a follow here.