Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election has energized a communist political movement in New York City that now wants him to take a dramatic step: abandon the Democratic Party and lead a new workers’ party dedicated to overthrowing capitalism.
The Revolutionary Communists of America, a newly formed offshoot of the Communist Party, has held more than a dozen public events across the five boroughs in recent weeks, according to reporting first by the New York Post. The group’s message to Mamdani is unambiguous: working within the Democratic structure is insufficient.
“Building a mass workers’ party would be an important step toward forming a workers’ government,” a group spokesperson told the Post. “We believe that the working class needs its own party, separate from the capitalist parties, the Democrats and Republicans.”
The RCA’s manifesto calls on younger generations to “step forward and fight for the overthrow of capitalism.” The group envisions a workers’ government that would provide free universal healthcare, free public transit, housing with rent capped at 10 percent of income, free education, full employment, and a shorter workweek with no loss in pay.
Mamdani, who has emerged as one of the nation’s most prominent democratic socialists alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, does not appear to have responded to the overture. His team declined to comment on the RCA’s campaign.
The RCA acknowledged Mamdani’s policy agenda: hiking taxes on the wealthy, providing publicly funded universal childcare, and offering free bus service. But the group contends that such reforms cannot be achieved through the existing two-party system.
“However, we do not think Mamdani will be able to achieve major reforms and a fundamental change in the lives of the working-class majority unless he starts a campaign to unite the working class of New York City with workers throughout the state and across the country,” the group said in written statements to the Post.
Mamdani’s decision to run as a Democrat disqualified him from RCA support, even though his electoral victory demonstrated broad openness to socialist ideas. The group said it would have “critically supported” his campaign had he run as an independent candidate.
“His volunteer base could have been the beginning of a workers’ party,” the RCA said. “We did not advocate voting for him as a Democrat.”
The RCA claims to have increased membership by 83 percent since July, operating 43 branches across the United States. The New York City branch has conducted organizing meetings at venues in Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Astoria, and Park Slope.
The tension highlights a potential rift between democratic socialists and more radical communist factions within New York’s left-leaning political ecosystem. A DSA activist downplayed any rivalry, telling the Post: “I never think about them.”
The RCA attributes its growth to deteriorating economic conditions and disillusionment with mainstream politics. The group points to a March 2025 Cato Institute/YouGov poll finding that 34 percent of young people in the United States and 14 percent of the overall population view communism favorably.
“The decline of American capitalism, and the growing instability and difficulty of life for ordinary workers, has pushed many people toward socialist and communist ideas,” the group said. “We are confident that the hatred of the U.S. population towards the Epstein class, which includes both the Democrats and the Republicans, will continue to fuel our growth.”
The RCA operates under the direction of an elected Central Committee but declined to publicly identify its New York City leadership.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
