It's the Brian Lear Show on WNYC.

I'm Amina Serna, filling in for Brian today.

He may have just made the move across the East River to Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side,

but Mayor Zoran Mamdani made his name in politics in the Queen's neighborhood of Astoria.

And he's by no means the only Democratic socialist who's represented Astoria in local and

statewide elected office in recent years. There's also city council member Tiffany Caban, state senator

Kristen Gonzalez, and of course Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Some commentators have

started calling this part of Northwest Queens the People's Republic of Astoria. Political analyst

Michael Lang, who's been a guest on this show, has dubbed it part of New York City's so-called commie corridor,

stretching through Astoria, Long Island City, and into parts of Brooklyn. So how did that happen? How did one neighborhood come to elect Democratic Socialists at every level of government?

Neiman Zoe is a member of the New Yorker's editorial staff, and he recently reported a piece

called How Did Astoria Become So Socialist? He talked with longtime residents, campaign volunteers,

immigrants, and organizers about what's changed and what hasn't. And he joins us now.

Hi, Naven. Welcome to WMYC.

Hi, I'm Anna. Thanks for having me. And listeners, we want to hear from you too, especially if you live in

Astoria. Does the Kami Corridor label fit you? How about the People's Republic of Astoria? Why or

why not? 212-433 W-N-YC. That's 212-433-9-6-92. You can also text that number.

All right. So when people hear the People's Republic of Astoria, what does that actually mean on the

ground? How unusual is Astoria's recent electoral record compared to the rest of the city?

Right, yes. So as you were saying, basically, I feel the sort of Zoran mayoral wave has really put

Astoria on the map. I feel like, you know, before that, you sort of thought of it as this sort of

relatively quiet suburban neighborhood, maybe all known for having nice restaurants and sort of a nice neighborhood feel.

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