The Thorn is published weekly by the Electoral Working Group of the NYC Democratic Socialists of America. Join the Electoral Working Group!
Local News
New York City may have found a way to put its sweltering subway stations, or “underground saunas,” to work. The Mamdani administration announced a pilot study for a thermal-energy system that would capture and store excess heat generated by subway stations during the summer and use it to heat municipal buildings in the winter, funded through congestion-pricing revenue.
NYC-DSA’s demographic makeup has become more diverse in recent years. According to a new internal demographic report, 60 percent of members who responded to the chapter’s demographic surveys identify as white.
The battle over low-income senior housing at Elizabeth Street Garden is officially over. The city announced last week that the garden will remain a park, while the low-income housing project will move to a new lot at 22 Suffolk Street on the Lower East Side.
Columbia University is facing a lawsuit from former and current Palestinian students, faculty, and staff alleging that school officials engaged in discrimination and actively encouraged their mistreatment following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent genocide of the Palestinian people.
Criminal justice advocates say Mayor Mamdani’s policing bears resemblance to Mayor Adams’s approach, pointing to continued use of “broken windows” policing and aggressive enforcement of low-level offenses.
An appeals court lifted the temporary restraining order blocking New York City’s pied-à-terre tax, allowing the rollout to continue while a higher court considers the case.
Election News
New York Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bruce Blakeman, has come under fire for his use of generative AI. In a letter sent to the Board of Elections, the Democratic Party alleged that Blakeman’s campaign violated election law through its use of AI-generated content in social media and campaign ads.
In other DSA electoral news: following Francesca Hong’s loss in Wisconsin last week, democratic socialists will face their next major electoral test this Tuesday, when DSA-endorsed candidate Oliver Larkin faces Jared Moskowitz — a self-described “DeSantis Democrat” — in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 25th Congressional District.
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