New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is under fire for refusing to condemn a Williamsburg, Brooklyn coffee shop that publicly told Jewish congressman Dan Goldman he was not welcome, then said it would have turned him away had staff recognized him sooner. Mamdani declined to comment through a spokesman when contacted by The New York Times Monday, and Fox News Digital received no response from his office either. The silence has proved louder than any statement.
What Poetica Coffee Actually Said
The Williamsburg-based Poetica Coffee posted — and later deleted — a message on social media directed at Goldman, a Democratic congressman who has declined to characterize Israel's war in Gaza as a genocide and has received contributions from the pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC. The post told Goldman the shop would have refused him service had employees recognized him, accused him of being a "genocide enabler," and said the money he spent was likely AIPAC funds anyway. Goldman, who had stopped in with his 7-year-old daughter, responded with notable restraint, saying the barista had been kind enough to let his daughter use the bathroom before he bought anything, and he hoped she received the tip she earned. Poetica has since deleted its Instagram account.
A Federal Investigation and a Political Flashpoint
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon announced Tuesday that her office has opened an investigation, citing federal law prohibiting public accommodations, including coffee shops, from discriminating against patrons on the basis of race, religion, or national origin. Dhillon called the actions "reprehensible" and "potentially illegal." Critics on social media were less measured: Fox News Radio analyst Josh Kraushaar called the mayor's non-response "shameful," while the CEO and co-founder of the antisemitism-focused nonprofit Boundless Israel said on X that Jews were being publicly barred from businesses in Mamdani's New York City. Journalist Melissa Braunstein went further, suggesting the café was "implementing Mamdani's wishes."
The Primary Subtext
The silence is not incidental. Mamdani is actively backing former city Comptroller Brad Lander in Tuesday's Democratic primary against Goldman, whose district spans Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Goldman notably withheld an endorsement from Mamdani's mayoral run, citing concerns about how a Mamdani administration would treat Jewish New Yorkers. The two candidates largely share the same policy terrain; the fight has narrowed almost entirely to Israel, with Lander pledging to elevate the Palestinian cause in Congress and Goldman having supported military aid to Israel following Hamas' October 7, 2023 attacks. Mamdani also skipped the Israel Day Parade while attending other cultural celebrations, a pattern his critics argue the coffee shop episode now reinforces. Democratic voters cast their ballots Tuesday.