The People’s Republic
of Astoria
A grassroots movement,
one staircase at a time.
In 2018, ten strangers met in Astoria Park.
Just seven years later, they’d elect the mayor.
This is the story of a movement — from the inside.
Ten Perfect Strangers
It’s January 2018, and ten strangers are standing in Astoria Park, about to knock on doors for a candidate nobody thinks can win.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a 29-year-old former bartender, and she’s challenging one of the most powerful politicians in America — a ten-term incumbent with $3 million in the bank and all the local endorsements.
From the start, the people running her campaign are managing expectations. Ready to lose.
This is where it begins.
Twenty Years Apart
Nine months later, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a 26-year-old campaign manager named Zohran Mamdani is about to lose an election. And in Astoria, the movement that just elected AOC is about to take on one of the most powerful companies on planet earth.
Two neighborhoods, separated by twelve miles and two months. This is the story of what must be done before change is even possible.
Fifty-Five Votes
In 2019, a public defender named Tiffany Cabán ran for Queens District Attorney on a platform her opponent called too radical to win. She’d lose by 55 votes — out of 90,000 cast.
This is the story of that loss, of those votes. It’s about what you can learn from defeat when you give everything you’ve got — and come up short, anyway.
Four Hundred Pounds
It’s March 2020, and the world has stopped. Campaign offices go dark. Canvassing is impossible. But in Astoria, a community is getting to work. Soon, a humble campaign office transforms into a hub for mutual aid.
This is the story of that state assembly campaign. But it’s really about the ways that people come together — when everything around them is falling apart.
Twenty-Six Hours
June 24th, 2025. Primary day. In 103-degree heat, fifty thousand volunteers are spread across New York City. And now, I’m not just a narrator — I’m one of them. A volunteer driver running water and Gatorade to poll sites from Canal Street to Inwood, I’ve become a part of a movement that stretches across the city.
And then my body starts to shut down.
This is what seven years of organizing looks like, from the inside.
Three Million Doors
Season finale. Coming soon.
Join The Movement.
Knock doors. Pack bread. Show up. Join the grassroots movement.
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