Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 4 CITY VIEWS March 13, 2026 Indian American Launches Bid In Crowded Democratic Primary For US Congress From NY-7 P ublic Defender Vichal Kumar launched his campaign for New York’s 7th Congressional District March 3, 2026, with a kickoff event in Bushwick. He also released his cam- paign launch video available on social media (Instagram and YikTok) outlining his vision to “Resist. Reclaim. Reimagine” The event at Kings County Brewers Collective brought together supporters, advocates, and neighbors from across Brooklyn and Queens, according to the press release from his campaign (Ku- mar4ny.com ). Kumar highlighted the campaign’s focus on immigrant justice, economic opportunity, and institutional accountability in his speech. The Democratic primary is scheduled for June 23, and a dozen candidates, including Kumar are vying for their party’s endorsement. He is a registered candi- date on the Federal Election Commission website (fec.gov) but its too early for any contributions to the campaign to be listed there. “This campaign is about more than winning a seat — it’s about restoring confidence that government can work for working people,” Kumar told those pres- ent at the launch. “We need bold ideas, and we need leaders who understand how to implement them. I’ve spent more than twenty years inside courtrooms and public institutions, reforming systems that weren’t serving people. That’s the experi- ence I’m bringing to Congress.” Describing himself as the son of working-class immigrants, Kumar says on his campaign website, “I didn’t plan to run for Congress,” adding, “my goals were far less lofty: emulate my parents’ values of caring for your community and to try to make them proud.” Which is what he did through law school and beyond, he notes in the biographical information on the website, where he says he has represented immi- grants, tenants, and fellow working-class NewYorkers throughout his career, “build- ing a reputation for principled advocacy and strategic reform.” His campaign, he says, will center on defending immigrant communities, expanding health care access, protecting workers, strengthening economic mobil- ity, and redefining the role of governmen- tal institutions. “In our communities, ICE is tearing apart families with impunity and demo- cratic norms are being undermined in plain sight,” Kumar said at the event. “This moment calls for more than rhetoric. It calls for someone who understands how to hold agencies accountable, how to use the law to protect people, and how to legislate in a way that reimagines what our country can do for working families.” Kumar served at The Bronx Defend- ers, where he advocated for community members confronting housing instability, job insecurity, loss of public benefits and healthcare barriers. “Every day I worked to undo the harm they were facing, every night I went to law school.” In Harlem, Kumar says, he built a new model with the sole purpose of creating a system of representation and care, one that saw the whole person and worked to deliver impactful outcomes in every facet of their life. “At Partners for Justice, I worked to scale that model nationally, across urban and rural cities, large and small states, and everywhere in between,” he said. “On their worst days, at their most vul- nerable, I showed up and fought to ease their burden. I had a simple plan: do good work, navigate broken systems, and make life a little less difficult for the families who came through our doors,” he says. “And it worked. We kept countless families together and people in homes. We helped them access employment, food assistance, Medicaid, and other essential support,” he adds. Kumar is a past-President of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA), which has a nationwide membership. “In that role, he advanced civil rights advocacy, expanded community-based legal services, and sup- ported leadership development within the legal profession,” the press release says. “Kumar is building a grassroots campaign across Brooklyn and Queens focused on accountability-driven leader- ship and community engagement,” his campaign said. The expectation is that his decades of advocacy for the most vulnerable New Yorkers, and people in other states, will make him stand out in the crowded field of Democratic aspirants. Kumar did law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, New York (Linkedin.com/in/vichalk/). By a StaffWriter PHOTO:SCREENSHOT FROM CAMPAIGNVIDEO ONTIKTOK Vichal Kumar in campaign launch video released March 3, 2026. N ewYork City Police said on Sun- day (March 8) a device that was ignited and thrown during protests outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home over the weekend was an explosive that could have caused serious injury or death. The device, a jar filled with nuts, bolts and screws and wrapped in black tape with a fuse, was thrown by a counter- protester on Saturday (March 7) outside Gracie Mansion, but it extinguished itself before any explosion, according to a state- ment from NewYork City Police Commis- sioner Jessica Tisch. Two people were in custody, Tisch said. The device was one of two that were thrown during the protests, which were led by two opposing groups, according to police. The second device was still being examined, Tisch said. Far-right activist Jake Lang led a protest on Saturday outside Gracie Mansion – where Mamdani lives with his wife – against a purported Islamic “takeover” of NewYork City and against public prayer by Muslims. Tisch said at a press confer- ence on Saturday that she did not believe Mamdani and his wife were home at the time. In a statement on Sunday, Mamdani condemned Lang’s protest but said the violence that followed it was more dis- turbing. “Violence at a protest is never accept- able,” Mamdani said. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.” Lang’s protest, which consisted of about 20 people, was opposed by a far larger counterprotest of 125 people aimed at running “Nazis” out of NewYork, Tisch said at a press conference on Saturday. Police said Emir Balat, 18, was among the counterprotesters before he lit and threw the device. The device rolled near police before it extinguished itself, Tisch said on Saturday. Balat ran after throwing it and eventually lit and dropped a second device in the street, according to Tisch. Balat and another man, whom police on Sunday identified as Ibrahim Kayumi, were arrested at the scene, Tisch said. NewYork police are working with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice on the investigation. Tisch said on Saturday there was no immediate indication the incident was related to the U.S. attack on Iran, but that authorities were still investigating. -Reuters New York City Police Identify Device Outside Mamdani’s Home As Explosive PHOTO:REUTERS/BING GUAN PHOTO:REUTERS/BING GUAN Bicyclists and a NYPD vehicle outside Gracie Mansion in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, U.S., February 11, 2025. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference at the New York City Office of Emergency Management in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., January 25, 2026.