Adriano Espaillat

As a crowd of well-wishers recently gathered at an Episcopal church in Harlem to pay their respects to a Manhattan power broker whose wife had died, one person’s attendance raised eyebrows among the political cognoscenti.

Representative Adriano Espaillat joined the sea of mourners, staying long enough to shake hands with the Manhattan leader, Keith L.T. Wright.

His appearance suggested a potential change in the bitter feud between Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Wright — a turf war dating back to 2016, when Mr. Espaillat defeated Mr. Wright to become the first Dominican American elected to Congress, seizing a House seat long controlled by Black leaders from Harlem.

But it also suggested the lengths to which Mr. Espaillat might travel to defend his seat. In what has become arguably the fiercest primary battle in New York City this cycle, Mr. Espaillat is fighting to block a well-funded challenge from Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who has the backing of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The June 23 primary contest is the latest example of the internecine battles underway in the Democratic Party as a crop of young activists take on established politicians they feel are too beholden to corporate donors, real estate interests and Israel, to the exclusion of New Yorkers facing financial struggles.

And Harlem, the storied center of Black culture in New York City and a reliable source of high voter turnout, may play a critical role in the election’s outcome.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.