Mamdani Installs DSA Comrade as NYC 'Nightlife Mayor'

New York City's socialist mayor just handed a six-figure government post to one of his own. Zohran Mamdani announced Friday that Eric Thor — the former co-chair of New York City's Democratic Socialists of America — will serve as executive director of the Office of Nightlife, the so-called "nightlife mayor," at a salary of up to $151,101. Taxpayers foot the bill.

This is how the left operates: not by persuading voters or winning arguments, but by stacking institutions with loyalists who share the ideology. One radical appoints another, and the public treasury funds the whole arrangement.

Mamdani made the announcement Friday, praising Thor's organizing background. "Eric has spent years organizing alongside working people, and he will bring that same commitment building a nightlife economy that works for everyone," Mamdani said, according to the New York Post. The Post Millennial noted that Mamdani said his DSA comrade would focus on conditions for nightlife workers and on streamlining permits for night events. The New York Post added that Thor would also work to strengthen the CURE program, introduced in 2024 to replace the city's decades-old practice of raiding venues during late-night hours.

Thor's actual nightlife credentials are thin. The first nightlife mayor, Ariel Palitz, told Gothamist that Thor spoke to her this week and said: "Although it's not yet clear to me what his nightlife experience is, I'm sure he and I will be having many conversations." The New York Post reported that Paper Magazine has described Thor as "a regular in East Williamsburg and Bushwick's club scene" — which apparently qualifies a DSA organizer to regulate an entire industry.

The appointment has already ruffled feathers where it matters. Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, told Gothamist he was caught off guard — despite chairing the advisory board for the Office of Nightlife. "It's strikingly bizarre that they wouldn't reach out to the Office of Nightlife Advisory Board," Rigie said. The Post Millennial reported that the mayor's office did not respond to an inquiry about Thor's incoming salary. The job posting listed the range at up to $151,101. The previous nightlife director under Eric Adams, Jeffrey Garcia, earned $151,101 annually, the New York Post reported.

The Office of Nightlife itself is a relatively recent creation — former Mayor Bill de Blasio signed it into law in 2017, establishing an executive director to serve as a liaison between club owners, residents, and city agencies, plus a 12-member advisory board. De Blasio signed the bill at the House of YES in Bushwick, with Ramones drummer Marky Ramone on hand for the festivities, the New York Post noted. Another government office, another patronage post, another paycheck — and now another DSA loyalist collecting one.

The question isn't whether New York's nightlife needs regulation. The question is why a DSA operative with no clear industry experience is now the one doing the regulating — and why nobody on the advisory board was even consulted before the mayor installed him.