Dan Goldman Faces Brad Lander in NY-10 Democratic Primary

One of the Democratic primary seasons most closely watched contests is between two-term incumbent Congressman and former federal prosecutor Dan Goldman and former New York City Comptroller, and two term City Council Member Brad Lander. Goldman is from Manhattan and a fierce Trump critic. Lander is from Missouri but a longtime Brooklynite and a fierce Trump critic. Both men are dads, Jewish and prefer bagels to bialys. During a June 1 debate, both men wore blue jackets and orange ties, apparently fishing for the Knicks vote. As for topics they differ on, the following interview offers some examples.

The boundaries of New York’s 10th Congressional District 10 (NY-10) range from the East Village and southern parts of Chelsea, down through lower Manhattan and over to Brooklyn, including Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, Gowanus, Park Slope, Sunset Park and Borough Park. The district is economically, and functionally, diverse in the extreme, from Wall Street to vestigial sweatshops and factories, from super expensive condos to sprawling NYCHA projects. Because truly diverse populations don’t all vote Democrat—and many people don’t vote at all, especially in primaries—the contest will come down to who can mobilize a relatively small percentage of the electorate.

The following was lightly edited for space and clarity.

DAN GOLDMAN: The stakes have never been higher. Right now, our economy is rigged for billionaires, a secret police is abducting our immigrant neighbors, and a fascist is in the White House pulling all the strings. We need bold, creative, and effective fighters, and I am uniquely qualified for this moment.

I spent over 10 years holding powerful people accountable as a federal prosecutor, led the successful impeachment investigation of Donald Trump in 2019, and, since entering Congress, I successfully sued his administration to gain congressional oversight access at ICE detention centers across the country. While fighting ICE through litigation and legislation, I also converted my Manhattan district office into a triage center for immigrant families, where I’ve worked with advocates and lawyers to free 40 New Yorkers from unlawful ICE detention.

When Democrats take back the majority this November, my seniority will put me in a position to use my unique skills and experience to hold Trump accountable for his corruption and fascism, while also pushing forward a bold, progressive agenda to abolish ICE, make billionaires pay their fair share, and give working families the opportunity to achieve the American Dream with universal healthcare, free childcare, and housing all New Yorkers can afford.

BRAD LANDER: We are facing a five-alarm fire for our democracy, and status quo Democrats aren’t meeting the moment. Trump is abducting our neighbors and corrupting our government, while the cost of living, and the gap between the rich & the rest of us, are skyrocketing. But instead of taking on special interests, corporate Democrats like Dan Goldman take money from them — from Wall Street, private equity, crypto, and AIPAC.

I have a different approach. I believe NY-10 voters want leaders who fight billionaires and deliver for working families, who don’t take corporate PAC money, who are team players for the city we love and the values we share, and who put their bodies on the line to protect their neighbors. That’s what I’ve been doing for 30 years, and that’s what I’ll do in Congress.

What does the state of Israel mean to you today, and historically? Any favorite works of Israeli literature or art that have influenced you?

LANDER: I’m a proud Jewish New Yorker, who grew up on the values and traditions and arguments of our people, and inspired by the vision of a Jewish and democratic Israel, which I still hold fast to – but what’s happening there now is not, in my opinion, consistent with either democracy or Judaism. There is no democracy with occupation; and Judaism is profoundly inconsistent with genocide. Israel’s destruction of Gaza and ongoing settler violence in the West Bank violate the precept of “b’tzelem Elohim,” that every human being is created in God’s image.

Many Israelis have grappled with these issues in profound and powerful ways in literature and art. I first read A.B. Yehoshua’s remarkable Mr. Mani in college, a six-generation novel that follows a family of Sephardic Jews backwards from 1982 to 1848, and I have returned to it many times since. And I highly recommend Amos Oz’ 2014 novel Judas, which explores what it means to have faith, and what it means to be called a traitor.

GOLDMAN: As a Jewish New Yorker, I believe strongly in the importance of Israel’s existence as the only Jewish, democratic state, founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust as a safe refuge for Jews no matter the global circumstances. Just as we do here in the U.S., we must recognize that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corrupt government, which I strongly oppose, is not synonymous with the State of Israel and the Israeli people.

In addition to “fighting Trump” today, are there things that you would do in the next Congress that might help elect a Democratic president in 2028?

GOLDMAN: We cannot focus solely on holding Trump accountable. We must push forward creative solutions that put working families first and make the American Dream a reality. I’m not a typical politician. I’m someone who has devoted my life to public service to seek justice, which can only be accomplished from delivering real results for New Yorkers.

My ROBINHOOD Act is a perfect example. It would help unrig our system by closing a loophole that billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk use to avoid taxes. By forcing them to pay their fair share, it would generate over $30 billion per year to fund universal childcare nationwide with money left over for healthcare, affordable housing, education, and more.

For Democrats to win big in 2028, we must prove we can be effective and deliver real results in divided government. With interest from my colleagues across the aisle already, my ROBINHOOD Act will do just that.

LANDER: We have to show voters what we’re fighting for, not only what we’re fighting against. And what we’re fighting for should be the things that matter in the daily lives of working people: jobs with dignity and living wages, housing they can afford, health care for their families, high-quality childcare and education for their kids.

Our first big budget demand when Democrats take back the House should be restoring the health subsidies that Trump and MAGA Republicans eliminated; when we show working people that we can fight and win for them on health care, it will give our 2028 Democratic Presidential nominee the ability to champion Medicare for All in a way people understand. Congressional Democrats must also stand up against endless wars and U.S. hypocrisy in foreign policy, giving our 2028 Presidential nominee credibility to stop writing blank checks for endless wars and making sure we reinvest those dollars here at home in the healthcare, transportation, and good paying jobs people need.

NY-10 has neighborhoods of notable affluence but also more needy sections. How can a congressman “deliver” to such a broad, bi-borough, constituency?

LANDER: When we desegregated the middle schools of Community School District 15, an effort I helped to lead, we showed it is possible for a district of affluence and need to share public goods in a way that delivers more equal opportunity. When we rezoned the area around the Gowanus Canal, an effort I helped to lead, we showed that it’s possible to find a way for affluent communities to welcome growth that includes significant affordable housing, and delivered $200 million for NYCHA developments to get comprehensive modernization while remaining traditional Section 9 public housing.

In Congress, across this diverse and remarkable district, I’ll continue to fight – and deliver – for a New York where everyone can live with dignity.

GOLDMAN: The beauty of NY-10 is the diversity of its communities. When I took office, I focused my outreach to the communities that had historically been overlooked and underserved — from setting up mobile office hours in Chinatown to moving my Brooklyn district office to Sunset Park, where 90 percent of our casework requests originate.

NY-10 is also home to 31 NYCHA developments. I’m proud that I have brought back more than $10 million of funding for 11 different developments, and that my team and I have resolved over 400 NYCHA cases. I’m deeply honored to be backed by nearly every NYCHA tenant association president across the district. In total, I have brought back $250 million to neighborhoods across the district and secured the largest ever EDC grant to revitalize the Brooklyn Marine Terminal and deliver 6,000 much-needed new homes. I will always fight for every community in NY-10.

What are some of your favorite spots on the Manhattan side of CD-10, such as restaurants, historical and cultural spots, parks, kids’ playgrounds.

GOLDMAN: There are so many to choose from. I often take my kids to Washington Market Park, so I have to start there. I love dining at Casa Adela in the Lower East Side, seeing shows at Joe’s Pub, and visiting the African Burial Ground.

LANDER: It’s no secret that I’m a Brooklyn guy, but I genuinely love the Lower Manhattan side of the district. When our kids were little (they are now 26 and 23), we fell in love with the playgrounds in Battery Park City and would frequently bike over the bridge to hang out there and then continue along the Hudson River Greenway. Rosa went to Bard High School Manhattan, interned at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and developed a historic walking tour ending at the Seward Park Library. Marching past Stonewall every year during Pride is one of the times I feel most profoundly a New Yorker.

Bialy or bagel.

LANDER: Everything bagel, scallion cream cheese, a thin slice of tomato, and lox, preferably warm out of the oven so the cream cheese melts a little, from Russ and Daughters or Shelsky’s or Zucker’s. On the best days, split 50/50 with my daughter Rosa, alongside an egg-and-cheese on everything, we each get half of each.

GOLDMAN: Bagel! Specifically whole wheat everything, with cream cheese, lox, tomatoes, and capers.