New York —

The day after the home of Eric Adams’s top fundraiser was raided , the new leaders of the Working Families Party, the coalition of progressive groups and labor unions, sent around invites to a secret meeting in November 2023.

The left could see a way to beat the mayor they hated. They just needed a plan.

Gathered in the common room of an apartment building in Long Island City: city comptroller Brad Lander, Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso and state senator Jessica Ramos. Zellnor Myrie, another state senator who ended up running, was invited but didn’t come. Also sitting there: Zohran Mamdani.

They were all surprised to see Mamdani there.

“Zohran? Is Zohran thinking of running?” Working Families Party co-chair Ana María Archila, who helped organize the meeting,

See Full Page