A New York City coffee shop told a Jewish member of Congress—who brought his young daughter by the store— to stay away, saying his "AIPAC" money was no good there, and smeared him as a fascist who sips "genocide juice."
On Monday, Poetica Coffee, an East Village roastery, posted a surveillance image on Instagram of Rep. Dan Goldman (D., N.Y.) at its cash register and launched into an invective-laden screed against the congressman, who's locked in a tight primary race that's focused heavily on his support for Israel.
"Hey @repdangoldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn't taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference? See, here at Poetica, we don't serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between," the account said.
"Too bad we didn't recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund—we don't need your money (it's probably coming from AIPAC anyways). Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don't ever come to Poetica."
In a response, Goldman on Instagram said he had stopped by so his daughter could use the restroom and had purchased a coffee out of politeness.
"I'm sorry to see this post. The barista could not have been nicer to my 7-yr-old daughter and me," Goldman said. "I made sure to buy a coffee in return for her kindness. I hope you at least make sure she gets the tip that she deserved."
The coffee shop is owned by Parviz Mukhamadkulov, an immigrant from Uzbekistan who is a donor to far-left Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and who, closer to home, has publicly complained that his Brooklyn neighbors were not tipping enough.
The post instantly made waves on social media, and within hours of it going online, Poetica Coffee had taken down its entire Instagram account.
On its website, Poetica incongruously touts its "radical hospitality" and proudly notes that guests are "sacred" and "the door is open to everyone."
Goldman, a two-term incumbent representing downtown Manhattan and a swath of Brooklyn, is trailing a progressive primary challenger, former New York City comptroller Brad Lander, in the polls, with the primary vote taking place Tuesday. Lander has been endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and has frequently denounced Israel throughout the campaign. Goldman has been largely supportive of Israel.
Mukhamadkulov, despite the deletion of his shop's Instagram account, doubled down in a LinkedIn post, telling one critic, "Pretty simple process if you support genocide we reserve the right not to serve you."
Mukhamadkulov started Poetica in 2020 during the pandemic. And while he has expanded to eight locations since then, he's done so as he's skipped out on paying the Empire State hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue.
As of June 20, 2026, Mukhamadkulov and Poetica Coffee owe the state of New York $397,166.58—mostly in unpaid sales tax—according to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance. All but one of Mukhamadkulov's 16 docketed warrants were incurred in 2025.
In 2023, Poetica and its landlord, Ying Wee Corp, were sued for failing to comply with accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Poetica failed to appear or answer the lawsuit, and Ying Wee Corp settled for $18,500. A year later, Ying Wee Corp sued Poetica and Mukhamadkulov for unpaid rent and costs associated with the ADA lawsuit, with a judge ultimately ordering the Uzbek to pony up more than $39,000, records show.
In January 2025, as debts began to accumulate, the city still allowed Poetica to install a coffee and food truck inside Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
Poetica's Brooklyn location at 240 Prospect Park West has also been repeatedly dinged by city health inspectors for unsanitary conditions—with a health grade currently "pending."
"Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage associated with (FRSA) flies or other nuisance pests in establishment's food and/or non-food areas. FRSA flies include house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies and fruit flies," inspectors noted in an inspection from June 18, 2026.
"Personal cleanliness is inadequate," inspectors added. "Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn where required. Jewelry worn on hands or arms. Fingernail polish worn or fingernails not kept clean and trimmed."
The June inspection was the worst recorded by the city at that location since they first inspected the cafe in August 2023, records show.
On X, Mukhamadkulov identified himself as a proud supporter of Mamdani. And federal election records also show he has also donated to Maine's far-left Democratic Senate candidate, Graham Platner.
Elsewhere on X, Mukhamadkulov has celebrated the deaths of Israeli soldiers and has accused Israel of being behind Sept. 11, calling the country a "nazi nation." He has defended vandalism against Jewish students on college campuses.
"How come when its [sic] Ukraine they are fighting for their land when its [sic] Palestine they are terrorists?" Mukhamadkulov opined on Oct. 7, 2023—the day of Hamas's infamous massacre of more than 1,200 innocent Israelis.
Even before Oct. 7, he was no fan of Israel, declaring in August 2022 that Israel was "a terrorist state" and "worst [sic] than Hitler."
Within days of the attack, he was calling for a "ceasefire" and falsely accusing Israel of committing "genocide."
He also doesn't take kindly to customer feedback. When one man, Robert Boscacci, complained about too many people working on their laptops, he responded by telling him, "F–k you Robert."
Mukhamadkulov lives in a Brooklyn apartment with Shahnoza Dusmatova—who lists herself as a cofounder of Poetica on her LinkedIn. She is currently a medical student at Howard University.
The Washington Free Beacon has reached out to Goldman for additional comment.
