Add The New York Post on Google Far-left Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday stood by embattled silver-spoon socialist Gustavo Gordillo — even as the radical honcho’s bogus working-class claims continued to unravel.
Hizzoner scoffed at Gustavo’s critics such as prominent city civil-rights leader Kevin McCall and dug his heels in over the dodgy, 38-year-old, rich-kid, co-chair of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the NYC-DSA, has come under fire for allegedly embellishing his biography to burnish his working-class credentials while living a life of privilege. Cindy Schultz for NY Post “The ‘D’ in DSA stands for Democratic, and I leave it to the organization and its own voting of who it is electing as its leaders,” Mamdani said when asked by The Post whether his Yale University-grad comrade should resign after misleading the media over his $1.5 million home and his union membership.
“And I think what we’ve seen with Gustavo, and what we’ve seen to any others who are in the fight for a fairer, more affordable New York, is that their focus is on making this a city that everyone can belong to,” the mayor said after an unrelated New York City Housing Court announcement.
“And I welcome anyone who’s committed to that.”
Mamdani, asked outright if he condemns lying, replied, “Thank you very much.”
In a recent New York Times profile, the outlet asked Gordillo about his splashy $1.5 million home in heavily gentrified Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and whether it conflicts with his socialist ethos against private property ownership and landlords.
He responded by claiming to be renting an apartment in nearby Crown Heights.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a fellow DSA member, refuses to call for Gordillo to step down despite his unraveling backstory. Stephen Yang for NY Post But Gordillo’s own father, also named Gustavo, confirmed to The Post that his son does indeed live in the nearly 2,000-square-foot, two-story row home on a leafy block, which the elder Gordillo purchased through a limited liability corporation in 2019 for $935,000, property records show. The home is now worth around $1.5 million.
When the Times reached out to Gordillo to clarify his residency discrepancy, he ceased communication with the reporter. Calls to him by The Post were not returned.
Gordillo, who graduated from the Yale School of Art with a MFA degree in sculpture, also frequently touts himself as a blue-collar union electrician — even paying tribute to his allegedly chosen trade in his X handle — @UnionGordillo.
But since 2024, he stopped claiming to be affiliated with the IBEW Local 3 and instead started referring to himself as a nonspecific union worker.
Reports show he joined the IBEW sometime over the past few years, but there are no records to indicate that he completed its seven-year journeyman process.
He told the Times earlier this year that he was no longer an electrician.
But in addition to Daddy, Gustavo also now has his man-of-the-people post to fall back on. He and his party co-chair convinced DSA leaders last month to pay them an annual salary of $95,000 a pop — plus benefits.
On Monday, the mayor was also asked about Gordillo’s privileged lifestyle and whether it undermines the DSA’s messaging on housing affordability.
His apparently carefully scripted response was almost identical to what he said Tuesday.
“I think anyone who is focused on delivering a more affordable life for the people of New York City, a fairer life for the people of New York City, and frankly, of those of the world should be welcomed into this work,” Mamdani said.
Gordillo, an immigrant from Peru, grew up in South Florida with his parents.
His father amassed a sizable fortune as the founder of Draftpros Inc., which specializes in engineering and consulting services, and he and his wife also own a sprawling 5,000-square-foot, five-bed, six-bath home in Boca Raton, currently on the market for $3.1 million, records show.
They own a slightly larger $3 million home in Weston, Fla. too, with five bedrooms and seven baths.
Before coming to the Big Apple, Gordillo studied art at Yale University, where he graduated with a degree in sculpture in 2010.
He started out working at a high-end art boutique in Chelsea but later quit to pursue a career as an electrician because selling pricey artwork to the well-heeled was against his values, he told the Times.
After a press conference Tuesday morning in Albany, The Post asked Gov. Kathy Hochul about the simmering controversy.
“I have not spoke to the leadership of the DSA,” Hochul said.
Hochul demurred on the topic of Gordillo’s finances, reiterating her opposition to the DSA and saying she’s too “busy” to concern herself with DSA’s internal politics.
“He’s not an elected official. I work with elected officials to help solve problems in New York City and if that is the leader they have chosen – I don’t agree with their positions in many, many, many areas and they can determine who they want as a leader,” she said.
“I think what we’ve seen is very questionable and concerning, but I’m pretty busy running the rest of the state, that I’m not engaging in much thought about who local chapters of local entities pick as their leaders, and whether or not they bought their own home of their parents did, I really have a lot more to think about.”
