Organizing Zohran’s NYC w/ Alina Shen and Fahd Ahmed

In this comprehensive episode of The Dig, hosts and guests delve into the transformative organizing strategies behind Zoran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in New York City, spotlighting the pivotal roles of DRUM and CAV—two grassroots organizations rooted in South Asian and Asian immigrant communities. Fahd Ahmed of DRUM and Alina Shen of CAV reflect on how their neighborhood-based, multi-issue campaigns built mass working-class power in the wake of Trump’s election and Eric Adams’ indictment. They emphasize using the nonprofit form strategically to reach marginalized communities while maintaining critical distance, framing the mayoral race as a tactical tool within a long-term 'war of position' to constrain real estate power and expand rent control. Their door-knocking efforts, community institution partnerships, and media outreach drove historic turnout, and now, as Mamdani takes office, they navigate the delicate balance between inside-the-administration collaboration and outside movement pressure. The conversation centers on the need to build alternatives to policing through community investment and political education, recognizing internal contradictions within the NYPD as strategic openings rather than monolithic obstacles. They advocate for a materialist, non-moralistic approach to power, grounded in deep community relationships and long-term transformation of both policy and consciousness. The episode underscores that real change emerges from the interplay between grassroots mobilization and progressive governance. The rent freeze is not merely a policy demand but a transformative experiment in shifting the logic of real estate and empowering tenants, especially in vulnerable neighborhoods affected by basement apartments and climate risks. Alina and Fahd stress that movement success depends on maintaining independence from state power while collaborating with allies in office, fostering new coalitions like People’s Majority, and expanding participatory democracy in housing, education, and land use. They highlight the city’s unique position as a global real estate hub with strong tenant protections, creating a strategic contradiction to be pressed. Ultimately, the episode affirms that local organizing is a vital defense against federal authoritarianism, and that sustained base-building, experimentation, and alliance formation—rather than electoral or policy wins alone—are the true measures of progress. The hosts close with a call to action, urging listeners to support the movement and the podcast through subscriptions and contributions.