Should DSA table at Mamdani’s government events?

A good government group is criticizing the Mamdani administration for allowing the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America to have a table at an official government event, but the socialist group insists that it had every right to be there.

NY1 reporter Samantha Liebman tweeted a photo showing an NYC-DSA table at the mayor’s Central Brooklyn Bus Riders Town Hall Thursday night. Placed next to tables for the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit and New York City Department of Small Business Services, the DSA presence prompted criticism that Mayor Zohran Mamdani had mixed government with politics.

“There needs to be a bright line between government-led civic engagement and political organizing,” Citizens Union Executive Director Grace Rauh said in a statement. “A government-run town hall that crosses that line is deeply concerning. The public needs an explanation from City Hall about how a partisan political organization was able to set up a table at an official city event, and what steps will be taken to keep partisan activity separate from government-run civic engagement going forward.”

But NYC-DSA believes that its presence at the event was entirely appropriate. The socialist group is best known for its electoral organizing, but it is technically registered as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, not a political party. That means it legally must spend at least 60% of its budget on non-electoral work.

“NYC-DSA does extensive community organizing and social welfare work, such as housing, transportation, and environmental advocacy,” NYC-DSA Co-chair Grace Mausser told City  State. “We were one of many non-profit community organizations that tabled at the event, including Riders Alliance and Transportation Alternatives.”

But even if DSA sees itself as legally equivalent to transportation advocacy organizations such as Riders Alliance, they never had a presence at city government under the previous administration. “I don’t think they ever asked,” former Eric Adams spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said about the org that regularly ridiculed Adams. “That being said, I’m not aware of any sort of political organization tabling at a press conference.”

Mamdani’s senior spokesperson Dora Pekec defended DSA’s inclusion in the event – and confirmed the group was specifically invited. 

“For the town hall, a number of community and advocacy organizations that work on transit issues were invited to table, including Fair Fares NYC, Transportation Alternatives, the DSA’s transit working group, and Riders Alliance,” she said. “These organizations provided a variety of resources and perspectives on transit advocacy for New Yorkers.”

Mamdani has a close relationship with NYC-DSA, which he has called his political home. He is a longtime member of the socialist group, which endorsed both his 2020 Assembly run and his 2025 mayoral campaign, and was one of its “Socialists in Office” while an Assembly member. NYC-DSA played a major role in his mayoral campaign last year, and since taking office, he has appointed NYC-DSA members like Cea Weaver and Tascha van Auken to top positions in his administration.