A 30-year-old man was shot dead during an argument at a Brooklyn pier Sunday morning, police said.
Day: August 9, 2026
Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew a clear line between himself and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) on public safety last week, saying police, prisons and jails have a role in keeping New Yorkers safe while the organization’s national program calls for steps toward fully abolishing the police and prison system.
The policy distinction comes as DSA figures hold senior posts in Mamdani’s administration, while the NYC-DSA’s transit working group was among several advocacy groups invited to table at a city-run bus town hall on Thursday, prompting questions about the boundary between political organizing and government-run civic engagement.
Asked during an interview with SiriusXM’s “The Clay Cane Show” where his views diverge from DSA, Mamdani, who vowed at his inauguration to govern as a Democratic Socialist, pointed specifically to public safety.
“Well, I would say, especially when it comes to public safety, I’ve been very clear that we have our police force, we have prisons, we have jails,” Mamdani said in the interview, which aired Friday. “The purpose of these is also to ensure that we are delivering safety and justice hand in hand.”
Mamdani said New Yorkers should not have to choose between the two and praised the NYPD for its work in delivering what he described as the lowest levels of murders, shootings and shooting victims in recorded history through the first seven months of the year.
“And I also want to ensure that this is a city where New Yorkers know that that is not coming at the expense of justice,” he said.
The position contrasts with DSA’s national program, which includes a section titled “End Mass Incarceration and Police Immunity.” It calls for demilitarizing police departments, disempowering police unions and redirecting funding to public services as steps toward “fully abolishing the police and prison system.”
Cane asked Mamdani whether there were positions in the DSA platform where he would say, “That’s DSA, but that’s not where I stand?” Mamdani chose public safety.
“If you have two socialists in a room, there has to be at least one disagreement,” he joked.
At the same time, Mamdani has appointed DSA figures to prominent roles in his administration.
On his first day in office, Mamdani appointed DSA member Cea Weaver to lead the Office to Protect Tenants.
The following day, he appointed Tascha Van Auken, a longtime DSA organizer and veteran progressive campaign operative who led his mayoral campaign’s field operation, to head the newly created Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement.
‘This is not good’
The DSA’s presence at Thursday’s town hall prompted questions about the boundary between political organizing and government outreach. At the event, NYC-DSA’s transit working group was among several organizations invited to have an information table at the administration’s Central Brooklyn bus town hall.
Citizens Union Executive Director Grace Rauh criticized the group’s presence.
“This is not good,” Rauh wrote on X. “There needs to be a bright line between partisan political activity & government-run civic engagement. City Hall needs to explain how the DSA was able to set up a table at an official city event, and what steps will be taken to ensure this won’t happen again.”
City Hall confirmed that the DSA transit working group had been invited, but said it was one of several community and advocacy organizations brought in because of their work on transportation issues.
“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,” mayoral spokesperson Dora Pekec said. “These organizations provided a variety of resources and perspectives on transit advocacy for New Yorkers.”
A City Hall official also said the DSA transit working group was invited for its transportation work rather than its electoral activity. The official said its political activity and 501(c)(4) status did not preclude the group from participating when it was invited for its expertise on transit.
NYC-DSA co-Chair Grace Mausser defended the group’s participation, saying DSA is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization rather than a political party. DSA’s own materials also identify the organization as a non-profit organization.
“NYC-DSA does extensive community organizing and social welfare work, such as housing, transportation, and environmental advocacy,” Mausser said. “We were one of many non-profit community organizations that tabled at the event.”
Mausser noted that Riders Alliance and Transportation Alternatives also had tables and referred questions about the city’s process for planning the event to City Hall.
The town hall dispute follows earlier questions about political guardrails around the Office of Mass Engagement, though those questions arose in a different context.
At a June budget hearing, Council Speaker Julie Menin questioned the administration about safeguards around the office as it drew attention for Organize NYC, an initiative aimed at increasing public participation in the Rent Guidelines Board process. Mamdani had made a rent freeze a centerpiece of his mayoral campaign, though he has stressed that the board is independent.
The administration said that the outreach was not intended to tell residents what position to take. At the initiative’s launch, Mamdani said canvassers would ask residents whether they knew if their apartments were rent-stabilized and whether they would testify before the board. He said the effort would also include outreach to landlords.
Menin asked at the time what safeguards existed to ensure the Office of Mass Engagement was not engaging in political work or other outreach that could create a conflict of interest.
“Government offices cannot engage in political activities,” Budget Director Sherif Soliman said, adding that employees were instructed on those rules through conflict-of-interest and Department of Investigation training.
“This is a government office, not a political operation,” Soliman said.
With reporting from Ethan Stark Miller