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What community organizations or activism has Zohran Mamdani been involved with?
Executive summary
Zohran Mamdani’s public record shows long-term involvement with grassroots tenant, immigrant and worker organizing (including work as a foreclosure-prevention housing counselor) and an electoral movement built from volunteers, arts and community groups that later spun into an activist vehicle to sustain his agenda (notably “Our Time for an Affordable NYC”) [1] [2] [3]. His mayoral campaign also partnered with or drew support from renters’ unions, immigrant groups, worker networks, the DSA and many local cultural organizers — including benefit concerts that funneled proceeds to nonprofit relief groups — and he campaigned directly inside faith and neighborhood institutions [4] [3] [5].
1. From foreclosure counselor to tenant organizing: a roots story
Mamdani’s pre-legislative work included serving as a foreclosure-prevention housing counselor helping low-income homeowners — work that put him in direct organizing and client-advocacy roles with communities of color across Queens [1]. That background anchors his public profile as someone who moved from service work into grassroots politics, a narrative repeated on his Assembly biography and in campaign materials [1].
2. Campaign-as-activism: volunteers, renters, immigrants and worker networks
Observers and sympathetic analysts describe Mamdani’s political rise as one grounded in community networks rather than big donors. His campaigns leaned on thousands of small-dollar donations and organized volunteers — a volunteer apparatus credited with canvassing, clubbing, and community events that connected renters’ unions, immigrant groups and worker networks to his platform on affordability [6] [4] [7]. Coverage notes his 2025 mayoral operation amassed large numbers of canvassers and volunteers, and that many of his policy proposals were developed through engagement with these constituencies [6] [7].
3. Arts, nightlife and benefit shows as organizing tools
Mamdani’s campaign intentionally mobilized New York’s arts and music communities. A series of benefit shows and cultural events not only raised funds but directed proceeds to on-the-ground groups such as The Sameer Project and NYC Migrant Solidarity, and to his support PAC New Yorkers for Lower Costs; organizers and creatives sold campaign merchandise and tabled at shows to expand outreach [3]. The Fader reported multiple sold-out shows where proceeds supported community organizations, illustrating how cultural organizing plugged into his grassroots infrastructure [3].
4. Partnerships with progressive organizations — including DSA ties
Reporting shows sustained collaboration between Mamdani’s team and left-leaning organizations. Campaign staffing and organizing involved activists connected to the Democratic Socialists of America and other progressive coalitions; critics and some outlets highlighted routine meetings between campaign leadership and NYC DSA chapters, while coverage by more sympathetic outlets framed these ties as part of a broad progressive coalition [8] [4]. The public record therefore shows both practical cooperation with organized left groups and debate about how tight those institutional ties were [8] [4].
5. Community safety advocacy and community group endorsements
Mamdani advanced a Department of Community Safety proposal developed with community input and outreach organizations; several community groups including immigrant and mental-health advocacy groups engaged with that idea and voiced conditional support or concerns — for example, DRUM supports parts of the plan but has worries about NYPD participation in some response programs [9] [10]. Opinion pieces argue the proposal follows best practices of outreach and stabilization, showing convergence between policy advocacy and community-based service groups [10] [9].
6. Movement infrastructure after the election: “Our Time for an Affordable NYC”
Supporters formed a group intended to keep Mamdani’s grassroots coalition active while he governs: Our Time for an Affordable NYC aims to channel volunteer energy into sustained activism to press for his affordability agenda and hold officials accountable [2]. Coverage frames this organization as a deliberate strategy to translate campaign mobilization into continued community pressure — an explicit recognition that electoral victories do not automatically deliver policy wins without organizing [2].
7. Points of contention and competing narratives
Critics and watchdogs have framed Mamdani’s alliances and rhetoric as cause for concern, prompting proposals like the ADL’s project to monitor his administration for impacts on Jewish community safety — an action framed by critics as necessary accountability and by others as divisive [11]" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[11] [12]. Conservative outlets emphasize past anti-police rhetoric and ties to socialist networks, while progressive outlets and specialty press highlight grassroots, volunteer-driven organizing and community partnerships; both narratives draw on real patterns in his campaign and community work [8] [4] [12].
Limitations: available sources do not present a single comprehensive list of every local nonprofit or tenant group Mamdani has worked with; reporting focuses on major themes (housing counseling, renters’ unions, arts benefits, DSA links, and the post-election Our Time group) rather than an exhaustive roster [1] [3] [4] [2].