As socialist candidates surge in New York and New York City, it’s worth noting that one leader of New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapter is the niece of Neville Roy Singham — a propagandist for the Chinese Communist Party and ardent supporter of Maoism and socialism.
The NYC-DSA made headlines this week after candidates it endorsed won their congressional primaries. Winners included Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, who are both DSA members, as well as Brad Lander (who was backed by Zohran Mamdani and Bernie Sanders, though he failed to receive a formal DSA endorsement).
The socialist candidates have not been shy about expressing their radicalism. Avila Chevalier said she wipes her hands on the American flag when she doesn’t have a napkin. She was part of a group while in college that sought the “total collapse of …[the] American empire itself” and said it was necessary to “undermine and eradicate America as we know it.” Valdez has called for abolishing ICE, giving amnesty to illegal aliens, and using government funds to subsidize “trans” procedures.
Another DSA-backed candidate, Aber Kawas, also won her primary for New York State Senate. In a 2017 video she said the 9/11 attacks were the result of America’s alleged capitalist, racist, white supremacist, and Islamophobic society.
Notably, Alicia Singham Goodwin, a leader of the NYC-DSA chapter who is also heavily involved with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is the niece of a communist multimillionaire who funds Chinese propaganda.
Goodwin served as the NYC-DSA delegate to the DSA National Convention in 2025, was the political director for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (and helped lead the “Jews for Zohran” coalition during Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral bid), and has been deeply involved as a “leader” of the DSA, according to the New York Post.
Both her parents are members of the NYC-DSA, and her uncle is Neville Roy Singham, a tech entrepreneur best known for founding a near billion-dollar software consultancy group known as Thoughtworks. Singham lives in Shanghai with his wife, who is the co-founder of the left-wing advocacy group Code Pink. A 2023 report from The New York Times found Singham “works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide.” The report found Singham’s wealth is used to further “progressive advocacy with Chinese government talking points.”
Singham also previously “joined a Communist Party workshop about promoting the party internationally,” according to the report.
