By: Tzirel Rosenblatt

The battle for New York City’s future has taken on a sharper edge in recent weeks, as revelations about Democratic Socialist nominee Zohran Mamdani’s ideological roots resurface, raising fresh concerns about what a Mamdani administration might mean for America’s largest city. While the candidate has sought to soften the socialist brand during his insurgent mayoral run, a deeper dive into the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) archives — unearthed by The New York Post in an exclusive report on Friday exposes a far more radical vision that Mamdani once embraced and has yet to fully repudiate.

The stakes could not be higher. With November’s general election fast approaching, questions abound over whether Mamdani’s candidacy represents a break from his past affiliations or a Trojan horse for the DSA’s sweeping manifesto, which calls for nothing less than a “wholesale socialist transformation” of the economy and society.

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, the DSA’s New York City chapter had long maintained an online platform that outlined its ambitions to “dismantle and move beyond” capitalism and usher in an era of socialist governance. That platform mysteriously vanished from the organization’s website in late 2021, yet remains preserved in internet archives that The Post accessed.

The recovered manifesto does not mince words. It calls for:

Decriminalization of all drugs and sex work

Elimination of petty crimes such as trespassing, fare evasion, and disorderly conduct

Expungement of criminal records tied to these offenses and the immediate release of anyone serving related sentences

Sweeping measures to shift city services into publicly owned enterprises, from grocery stores to transportation

The radical nature of these proposals has rattled critics. As The New York Post report highlighted, such policies could amount to dismantling much of the city’s existing law enforcement apparatus while unleashing profound social and economic disruption.

In the face of heightened scrutiny, Mamdani has insisted that his mayoral platform is not interchangeable with the DSA’s agenda. His campaign spokesperson, Dora Pekec, told reporters: “Zohran’s affordability agenda is crystal clear: if Zohran has not publicly endorsed or spoken on a position during the campaign, it is not a part of his mayoral platform.”

Yet, as The New York Post was quick to point out, Mamdani’s past record complicates this neat distinction. Since his rise in city politics in 2019, when he was elected to the state Assembly under the DSA banner, Mamdani has selectively echoed portions of the group’s program — particularly in areas where populist appeal intersects with socialist ideals.

Among the ideas Mamdani has openly supported:

City-run grocery stores to combat food insecurity

Free buses to expand transit equity

Increased public funding for transgender health services, including hormone therapy and surgery

And more recently, since his upset primary victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani has aligned himself with other DSA policies, such as ending mayoral control of public schools and defending the decriminalization of prostitution.

This strategic adoption of specific policies while distancing himself from the DSA label has led some analysts, including those quoted in The New York Post report, to accuse Mamdani of attempting to “sanitize socialism” for mainstream voters while keeping his ties to the movement intact.

A key feature of Mamdani’s campaign messaging has been drawing a distinction between the national DSA, whose platform calls for eliminating misdemeanor crimes entirely, and the NYC chapter, which he claims reflects more pragmatic values. When asked about the national organization’s positions, Mamdani’s campaign has repeatedly said those policies do not align with his agenda.

But The New York Post report noted that the NYC-DSA platform itself, though scrubbed from public view, contains many of the same radical proposals — including drug decriminalization, expungement of records, and transformative economic restructuring. The discovery undermines Mamdani’s effort to portray himself as detached from the more extreme contours of the socialist movement.

Mamdani’s delicate balancing act has not gone unnoticed. While his campaign points to endorsements from NYC-DSA leaders like co-chair Gustavo Gordillo, who maintains that “Zohran’s platform and DSA’s platform are distinct,” questions remain as to why the organization removed its manifesto from public view. Gordillo refused to clarify this when pressed by The New York Post.

Meanwhile, New York’s Democratic establishment has been cautious. As The Post reported, figures like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Governor Kathy Hochul have withheld endorsements for Mamdani, signaling unease within the party’s mainstream ranks about his ideological baggage.

This silence is politically significant. Mamdani may command grassroots enthusiasm on the left, buoyed by alliances with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, but he has yet to secure the backing of the state’s most powerful Democrats, whose support could prove decisive in a general election where independent and moderate voters will carry weight.

Mamdani’s claim that his platform diverges from the DSA’s is further complicated by his past record. In 2023, as The New York Post report observed, he was a keynote speaker at the DSA’s national convention, an honor reserved for the organization’s most prominent champions. His speeches often leaned into the DSA’s rhetoric, railing against capitalist structures and advocating for sweeping systemic overhaul.

Even when he has not explicitly endorsed specific planks — such as legalizing all sex work — Mamdani has voiced sympathy for approaches that align with them. He publicly supported former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s policy of decriminalizing prostitution, which itself echoed DSA principles.

This track record raises a pressing question: is Mamdani’s current moderation a tactical repositioning designed to win broader support, or does it represent a genuine ideological shift?

Perhaps the most controversial aspects of the DSA platform are those related to law enforcement and public safety. The call to decriminalize petty crimes and expunge records strikes at the heart of debates about urban order.

As The New York Post has consistently highlighted, New Yorkers are deeply concerned about crime, disorder, and the erosion of public safety. Policies that reduce enforcement of “minor” offenses — from fare evasion to trespassing — have historically correlated with increases in quality-of-life complaints and emboldened lawlessness. Critics argue that adopting such policies on a citywide scale could exacerbate existing challenges and undo progress made in crime reduction.

Mamdani’s campaign has attempted to reassure voters that the NYPD would continue to prosecute misdemeanors under his leadership. Yet the refusal to fully disavow the DSA’s radical stances leaves ambiguity, fueling skepticism about what his administration would actually prioritize once in office.

The contradiction at the heart of Mamdani’s candidacy is clear. On the one hand, he seeks to present himself as a pragmatic reformer focused on affordability, public transit, and healthcare access. On the other, he is deeply enmeshed in a political movement whose platform envisions a revolutionary transformation of New York’s economy, justice system, and social fabric.

As The New York Post report framed it, this duality raises serious questions for voters: can Mamdani be trusted to govern as a moderate, or is his campaign merely a steppingstone for advancing the DSA’s larger socialist experiment?

In the weeks ahead, Mamdani will need to navigate this ideological tightrope carefully. His opponents are likely to hammer away at his DSA affiliations, using the resurfaced manifesto as evidence of extremism. Meanwhile, his campaign will continue to highlight affordability, public services, and progressive social policies as a way of broadening appeal beyond his base.

For voters, the choice may come down to whether Mamdani’s assurances outweigh the evidence of his past alignment with radical socialist goals. As The New York Post has repeatedly underscored, the consequences for New York City are immense: a mayor who embraces the DSA vision could radically reshape policing, education, and the economy in ways that redefine the city for decades to come.

The unveiling of the NYC-DSA’s hidden manifesto — and Mamdani’s selective embrace of its ideas — has thrust the socialist nominee into the center of a debate over New York City’s identity and trajectory. While his campaign insists he is not bound to every plank of the DSA’s agenda, his history and associations suggest otherwise.

As The New York Post report has emphasized, there is “no hiding now.” Voters must grapple with whether Mamdani represents a bold new vision for affordability and justice, or whether his election would open the door to radical policies that risk destabilizing the city’s fragile equilibrium.

With the general election looming, New Yorkers face a defining choice: to embrace Mamdani’s promises of transformation, or to heed the warnings embedded in the DSA’s blueprint for a socialist New York.