The 2025 Mazals
Join us for an evening celebrating NYC movement leaders
WHEN
Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 | 6:00-9:00PM
WHERE
Sunset Park
Location provided upon RSVP
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Honorees
NYS Tenant Bloc

The NYS Tenant Bloc is organizing tenants from our homes to the ballot box to take power from the real estate industry. Tenants are half the state: united we could take control over our homes and democracy. Their advocacy helps all New Yorkers, up-and-down the state, winning victories such as good cause eviction protections, eviction moratoria, and statewide rent stabilization. At this moment, the number one issue New Yorkers are facing is the affordability crisis and housing insecurity. We celebrate the work of NYS Tenant Bloc and their commitment to building a New York for ALL.
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M. Gessen

We are honoring M. Gessen in recognition of their scholarship and activism dedicated to combatting fascism, in this current political climate where totalitarianism is on the rise we wish to celebrate and learn from their work within the anti-fascist field. M. Gessen is an opinion columnist for The New York Times. They are the author of 11 books of nonfiction, most recently Surviving Autocracy, as well as The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, which won the National Book Award in 2017. In December 2023, The New Yorker published an essay by Gessen titled "In the Shadow of the Holocaust," which won the author a George Polk Award for Commentary and nearly cost them the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought.
Most recently, M. Gessen authored a must-read NYT op-ed entitled “The Attacks on Zohran Mamdani Show That We Need a New Understanding of Antisemitism.” If you have not already, give it a read!
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DREAM Team: Brad Lander & Zohran Mamdani

Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani are each incredible leaders in their own right. But at this year’s Mazals, we honor their partnership and the hope and optimism they’ve inspired.
Brad Lander: Brad Lander is a dad, a Brooklynite, and a lifelong public servant who has spent his career solving New Yorkers problems — first as an affordable housing leader, then in the City Council, and now as NYC Comptroller. For years, Brad ran housing organizations like the Fifth Avenue Committee and the Pratt Center for Community Development, building and saving thousands of affordable homes. On the City Council, Brad passed groundbreaking legislation to protect workers. In Gowanus, he led the largest redevelopment effort in the city that created thousands of units of affordable housing. As Comptroller, Brad was the first public official to stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk when they stole $80 million in taxpayer money from our city, and he rejected Eric Adams’s no-bid contract that wasted $432 million in taxpayer money. From his days in City Council to his current role as Comptroller, Brad has been JFREJ’s staunchest ally in office for over a decade, including organizing with us to pass landmark legislation to end Stop & Frisk in NYC, and most recently, putting his body on the line between new New Yorkers and the ICE Gestapo who have invaded our city.
Zohran Mamdani: Zohran Kwame Mamdani is a New York State Assemblymember, democratic socialist, and the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City. Born in Uganda and raised in NYC, he has fought for the working class in and outside the legislature: hunger striking alongside taxi drivers to achieve more than $450 million in transformative debt relief, winning over $100 million in the state budget for increased subway service and a successful fare-free bus pilot, and organizing New Yorkers to defeat a proposed dirty power plant. JFREJ has been proud to organize alongside him for a ceasefire and full hostage deal, for Fair Pay for Home Care, and for the Not On Our Dime Act, and to have endorsed him for mayor.
Together, Brad and Zohran – a progressive Jew and a Muslim socialist – teamed up, refusing to attack one another, and stayed focused on preventing Cuomo’s comeback. Their ongoing collaboration has been a model of true solidarity and leadership dedicated to the public good, offering a new kind of politics altogether. Instead of vicious infighting, we got joyful collaboration. We got to see what happens when we join forces as progressives and Leftists, have each others’ backs, and maximize our collective power. We are delighted to honor them.
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Access & Information About the Venue
When: September 10th, 6-9pm
Where: Sunset Park (Location provided upon RSVP)
Food: We will be serving a buffet-style light dinner
Vibe: Connection, rage, joy, and art while contending with what it means to celebrate together in such heartbreaking times. We will be present in this moment with calls to action and to resist. There will be live music, dancing, and an open bar. It will be outside, there will be seating, and childcare!
Covid Safety
- The event will be held outdoors in a large enough space to spread out.
- The entrance to the building and the restrooms are indoors. Masks are required in all indoor spaces. We will not be requiring masking in the outdoor space, though we encourage you to do so if that is more comfortable for you.
- We ask that everyone take a covid test on the day of the event and we will provide covid tests at the venue if you need. We ask that you stay home if you don’t feel well.
Rain Plan
- In the event of rain, we will be moving the event indoors and requiring masking. We are working with covid safety experts to maximize air purification and air flow in the indoor space. There will be limited outdoor and tented space for those who prefer to be outside
Access
- The venue is ADA accessible and has an ADA accessible restroom.
- The venue has gender-neutral restrooms.
- We are in the process of planning for shuttles to make the venue location more accessible. The venue is accessible by the R train, a bus service and the ferry.
- The main program will be live-streamed.
- JFREJ is committed to the safety of all of our guests. Just like at street actions, we will attempt to make sure that no one leaves the venue alone. We will arrange for guests to walk in groups and will provide buddies to accompany anyone walking to a car, car service or subway.
- We will be providing childcare (more information to come for how to sign up for childcare).
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Mazals Sponsors (list in progress)
Rana Abdelhamid
Jen Abrams & Katherine Pradt
Sandra Abramson
Katherine Acey
Hillary Aidun
David Alexander
Deborah Allen
Joan Altman
Amanda Altman
Daniel Altschuler & Ana María Archila
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Phyllis Arnold
Phil Aroneanu
Andrea Arzt & Walter Tegtmeier
Drs. Steve Auerbach & Karen Becker
Avodah
Rebecca Bailin
Beth Baltimore
Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein
Basia
Ben & Susan Baxt
Ellen Bender
Rabbi James Bennett & all the Rabbis of Congregation Shaare Emeth
Joan Beranbaum
Ilana Berger
Linda Bermas
Nancy Bernstein & Rocky Schoen
Susan Bernstein
Amy Bisno
BW2W neighborhood group
Jeannie Blaustein
Hallie Boas
Arielle Bonne
Rabbi Shira Botzum & Jonathan Wasserman
The Bowen Family
Jonah Boyarin in honor of Yeshaya z"l
Naomi Braine & Margaret Reiff
Senator Jabari Brisport
Naomi Brussel
Michèle Burger & Tom Cramer
Amy Laura Cahn
Ronda & Alan Channing
Ellen P. Chapnick
Sally Charnow
Miriam Cohen & Stuart Kivelowitz
Greg Cohen
Carlyn Cowen
Peter Cowen
BC Craig & Ruth Finkelstein
Naomi Dann
suzi dessel
Janna Diamond
Mitch Drach & Donna Schneiderman
Susannah Dyen
Cody Edgerly
Jesse Ehrensaft-Hawley
Rabbi Dr. Barat Ellman & Jay Golan
Rebecca Ennen & Ari Weisbard
Marla Erlien
Steve Fahrer & Monona Yin
Michael Felsen & Tolle Graham
Kira Felsenfeld
Laura Ferguson
Marc Fernandes & Ivette Rivera-Giusti
Sarah Fields
Marjorie Fine
Deirdre Fishel
Margo Flug & Sujay Jhaveri
Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest
Robert Fox
Sarah From & Rusty Stahl
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher
Cristina Gallo
Paula Galowitz
Ellen Gruber Garvey & Joyce Ravitz
Tami Gold & Karen Zelermyer
Stefan Goldberg
Phyllis Teicher Goldman
Senator Kristen Gonzalez
Adam Graubart
Lydia Green
Ginna Green
David Greenberg & Sarit Golub
Leah Greenberg
Cynthia Greenberg
Corinne Greenblatt
Richard Greenspan
Stephanie Greenwood
Jessica Greer Morris
Meghan Grover
Council Member Shahana Hanif
Jennifer S. Hirsch and John Santelli
Marianne Hirsch & Leo Spitzer
Ellen Hirsch
Michael Hirschhorn & Jimena Martinez
Alison Hirsh
Neal Hoffman & Andrew Ingall
Lauren Hollender
Edward Hong
Claudia Horwitz
Michelle Jackson
Rabbi David Jaffe & Janette Hillis-Jaffe
Jeffrey Jiménez-Kurlander
Ali J
Andy Kahn
Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster & Paul Pelavin
Meredith Kane & Alexandra Tell
Kavitha Kasargod-Staub
Brian Kates & Jonathan Cohen
Rebecca Katz
Daniel Katz
Donna Katzin & Alan Altschuler
Anne Kemper
Dove Kent & Theo Luebke
Pippi Kessler & Jules Skloot
Rabbi Jason Klein
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum
Lab/Shul
Myriam Klotz
Estee Konor
Talia Kravitz
Joan A. Kuriansky
Rachel Laforest
Mickey Lambert & Nina Callaway
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander
Shai J Lauros
Liz Lauros
Bill Leavitt
Susan Lerner & Terry Curtis Fox
Zachary Lerner & Asya Pikovsky
Herb Leventer
Karen Levinson
Jeyn Levison
Hannah Lieberman
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann & Dr. Kathryn Conroy
Marion I. Lipshutz
Becca Litt
Asher and Michael Loeb & Julia Davis
Elise & Nissa Mai-Rose
Michael Mandel
Julia Marden
Ruth W. Messinger
Nancy F. Mills
Oksana Mironova & Benjamin Nadler
Nikki Morse & Em Rosenfield
Jesse Myerson
Elise Nakhnikian
David Neustadt
Donna Nevel
Cynthia Nixon & Christine Marinoni
Sandy Nurse
Padraig O'Donoghue
Susan Ochshorn & Marc Gross
Lee Ornati & Alice Shechter
Alexis Ortiz & Family
Cheryl Paradis
Rabbi Salem Pearce
Russ Pearce
Lynn Pearl
Rona Peligal & Aaron Brenner
Kathleen Peratis
Judith Plaskow & Martha Ackelsberg
Amy Plattsmier & Jason Gonsky
Rachel Posner
Nahoma Presberg
Janet R Price
Ahmer Qadeer
Steve Quester
The Rachels
Ethel Raim & Catherine Foster
Dania Rajendra
Sheldon Ranz, Director of Special Projects, SDUSA
Sasha Raskin-Yin
Beth Reisen & Mark Dyen
Leah Reiss & Howie Levine
Jonathan Reiss
Jacob Remes & Mari Armstrong-Hough
Council Member Lincoln Restler
Billy Richling
Jessica Roff
Jenna Rosen
Rachel Rosenbloom
Jennie Rosenn
Cynthia Rothschild & Barbara Schulman
Bobbie Sackman
Yael Sacks
Yasmin Safdie
Senator Julia Salazar
Lilly Sandberg
Phillip Saperia & James Golden
Linda Sarsour
Audrey Sasson
Diane & Robert Sasson
Donna Schaper & Warren Goldstein
Emily Schatzow
Pamela Shifman & Lee Schere
Dana J. Schneider & Kathleen Pequeño
Rachel Schragis
Molly Schulman
Deborah F Schwartz
Cantor Lisa B. Segal & Ari Strimling
Margot Seigle
Barak Sered
Andrea Shapiro
Laura Shmishkiss
Franny Silverman Newman & Mike Newman
Riva Silverman & Abram Heisler
Dara Silverman
W Mae Singerman
Meredith Slopen
Barbara Smith
Marilyn Sneiderman & Stephen Lerner
Keren & Natasha Soffer-Roth
Marilyn Kleinberg Neimark & Alisa Solomon
Devon A. Sojourner Spier
Elizabeth Unger Starcevic
Jacob Stavis
Rabbis Margot Stein & Myriam Klotz
Janice Rous
Naomi Sunshine & Jill Szuchmacher
The Susman/Adams Family
The Susman/Ramakrishnan Family
Ben Theodore
Gabe Tobias
Laura & Nick Unger
Katie Unger
Assemblymember Claire Valdez
KC Wagner
Daniel Walber
Josh Wallack
Rachel M Weinstein
Wesley Weissberg
Rabbi Alex Weissman & Rabbi Adam Lavitt
Susan Weltman & Steven Jervis
Marilyn Williams
Elizabeth Wilson
Ellen Witzling Roff
Ellen Yaroshefsky
Sara E. Yood
Sondra Youdelman
Abdullah Younus
Sarah Zelermyer-Diaz