“The party of gentrifiers is moving to Brooklyn,” declared City & State, the unofficial press organ of the New York establishment, reporting on NYC-DSA’s endorsement of its Albany slate in October 2019. After Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) pulled off a shocking upset over Queens Machine boss Joe Crowley the summer before, this became the preferred narrative of the city’s ruling class and its sympathizers in the media to account for the growing strength of the political left.

Since many saw her win as a referendum on the failures of party leadership, those leaders were eager for an explanation that preserved the illusion of their legitimacy. An unusual density of privileged ideologues undermining the will of the true Democratic base was an attractive rebuttal.

It was also hokum, of course. Though AOC did put up blockbuster margins in gentrifying neighborhoods like Astoria, the truth was that she prevailed across the district, from Morris Park and Pelham Parkway to Jackson Heights and College Point. Where she had struggled were more conservative Hispanic enclaves like East Elmhurst, and in heavily black areas like LeFrak City. After Tiffany Cabán narrowly lost the Democratic primary for Queens district attorney due to similar patterns, this narrative grew in popularity among the Left’s establishment critics.