In District 3, Progressive Lindsey Boylan is Betting on Grassroots

Mamdani enthusiasm shifts downballot

By Audrey Hill

On a chilly night in February, more than 70 volunteers gathered for the inaugural volunteer event for progressive Lindsey Boylan’s campaign for City Council – an unusual crowd for such a local race. A number of them were former canvassers and field leads for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign who met Boylan while she was knocking on doors to help get him elected.

For many of those volunteers, involvement with the Mamdani campaign had galvanized their engagement with local politics in a new way. Now, after successfully propelling him to office, their enthusiasm hasn’t dissipated – it’s moved downballot to Boylan’s campaign.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been galvanized by a local race in the way that I have been by the Zohran campaign, and I think so many other people here also experienced that,” Macy Stacher, Boylan’s deputy campaign manager, said of the campaign’s volunteers.

Boylan, an avowed progressive, former urban planner and one-time state government official, is running to represent City Council District 3, which includes the West Village, Chelsea, and Hell’s Kitchen. The seat was vacated by Erik Bottcher after his recent ascension to the state Senate. The special election to fill that vacancy will take place on April 28.

Boylan has secured the endorsements of the New York Working Families Party, New York Progressive Action Network, and a multitude of progressive local leaders, but failed to obtain the support of other groups like the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club (which favored one of its district leaders, Layla Law-Gisiko) or the Village Independent Democrats, which has thrown its support behind Carl Wilson, Bottcher’s former chief of staff.

But for Boylan’s campaign manager, Paloma Naderi (founder of Moms for Zohran), connecting directly with people in the district is their main focus. Volunteer shifts for the campaign are frequent and well-attended, and the campaign has outraised every other candidate in the race thus far – some by a hefty margin. Both Boylan and Naderi attribute the engagement to their grassroots organizing and excitement driven by Mamdani’s affordability agenda – an agenda Boylan hopes to carry forward as a council member.

“Voters just gave the mayor a huge mandate to tackle the affordability crisis.” Boylan said. “I would be the 25th member of the progressive caucus, and that would enable a lot of what New Yorkers are demanding to happen.” At 24 members in a 51 member council, the progressive caucus needs just two more members to secure a majority, and Boylan’s election would be a significant step towards that.

“In my district, people are severely rent burdened,” Boylan said. “Many believe they can’t stay here, certainly can’t build a family here, and can’t make a good quality of life here.” Boylan and those involved with her campaign articulate a shared vision for the district and the city that is in the same vein as Mamdani’s. Stances like increasing affordable housing, universal childcare, investing in public spaces, and standing up to Trump are central to her campaign.

Boylan is not new to public service and has previously tackled many of those issues in different capacities. During her time as an urban planner she helped to manage public spaces, including Herald and Greeley squares.

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Per her LinkedIn profile, she was New York State’s deputy secretary for economic development and “oversaw all of Economic Development and Housing” under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She later skyrocketed into the national spotlight in 2021 when she became the first woman to come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo, which he denies. However, the combined testimony of Boylan and the 11 women who came out after her played a significant role in the former governor’s eventual departure from public office and likely stymied his efforts towards the mayorship in 2025.

Jay, a volunteer for the Boylan campaign, said it is not lost on him how much Boylan gave up when she came forward against Cuomo. “My former spouse was also victim of sexual harassment in a government role that resulted in her outing,” Jay said, “Unfortunately, in government…those whistleblowers are typically giving up their career.” When talking to prospective voters, Jay said he likes to tell them that “they’re helping right a wrong that they had nothing to do with.”

In light of how often survivors are shamed for coming forward, Boylan is aware of what her election to City Council could mean for other survivors. “It’s not why I’m running, but the symbolism of it is not lost on me,” She said. “It would mean the world to me to be able to be some small part of the story of survivors reclaiming our place in the world.”

That story has been a long time coming. Like many involved with the campaign, Naderi met Boylan while they were canvassing for Mamdani. At the time, Boylan was a surrogate for his campaign and the subject of renewed attention because of Cuomo’s involvement in the race. She was also quietly trekking all over the city day after day climbing up walk-ups and doing the hard and often unglamorous work of getting Mamdani elected – and making sure Cuomo wasn’t.

“She just showed up like any other volunteer, she didn’t draw attention to herself, and she just knocked doors with the rest of us,” Naderi said.

The Mamdani campaign ignited in many of Boylan’s volunteers (or reignited in some cases) an enthusiasm for local politics and the affordability agenda. But for many, it is Boylan herself, not just her platform, that has them toting green petition sheets collecting signatures for hours in the cold and into the night.

“She really shows up when it matters most,” Naderi said. “We’re excited to do it for her in return.”