AOC?s voting bloc looks to its next targets in New York

While the DA race is a New York City post, Cabán supporters are looking to wield their influence beyond the borders of Queens County and are in search for their next targets.“My takeaway is a new coalition is nascent in Queens, and there is a lot more upside for this emerging progressive coalition than there is for the calcifying machine,” said Neal Kwatra, a Democratic consultant who has worked with New York politicians from Mayor Bill de Blasio to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Younger voters in gentrifying neighborhoods of western Queens turned out en masse for Cabán, who was also able to cut into Katz’s expected base of support among older, middle-class black homeowners in southeast Queens.The Democratic Socialists of America, which backed both Ocasio-Cortez and Cabán, is talking to roughly 10 people about possible challenges to local incumbents in Queens, said a source who would only speak on background about political challenges that have yet to be decided.The group is looking at seats that appear winnable in western Queens — where it has a solid voting bloc — including those of Assemblymembers Aravella Simotas, Cathy Nolan and Michael DenDekker, said two sources. [Katz] clearly carries those votes,” said Jonathan Greenspun, a political consultant who used to work for Bloomberg.The Van Wyck expressway has become something of a demarcation line, separating the gentrifying western Queens neighborhoods — where incumbents are vulnerable to progressive challengers — from eastern Queens, a more ethnically diverse area with homeowners that skew moderate. That could make challenging powerful incumbents like Meng a heavy lift.“The DA race proved that the progressive community in western Queens is a force to be reckoned with in the borough, but that it’s support is strongest west of the Van Wyck,” said Evan Stavisky, a partner at the Parkside Group, who represents candidates in Queens — several of whom have been backed by the county organization.