Braving frigid temperatures outside of City Hall in lower Manhattan, newly inaugurated New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani in a rousing speech resisted calls for him to take a more moderate approach to governing than the one he took during his campaign.
“Today begins a new era,” he said at the beginning of his New Year’s Day address, saying those in attendance were “warmed against the January chill by the resurgent flame of hope.”
Referencing those who advised him to use his inaugural address to “reset expecations” for the people of New York about what he could accomplish as mayor, Mamdani defiantly insisted, “I will do no such thing.”
“The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations,” he said.
“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,” he added. “We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
In a reference to New York’s arts community, one of numerous call-outs to the diverse individuals across various industries who call the city home, Mamdani urged New Yorkers to expect the best from elected officials: “We expect greatness … from those who stride out onto Broadway stages … let us demand the same from those who work in government.” He also thanked the performers at Thursday’s public inauguration who shared their talent with the elected officials and large crowd of New Yorkers who filled the streets in lower Manhattan for what was billed as a celebratory block party.
Later he added, “I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical,” referencing Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who administered Mamdani’s public oath of office earlier in the event, previously saying, “What’s radical is a system which gives so much to so few and denies so many people the basic necessities of life.”
“I was elected as a Democratic Socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic Socialist,” Mamdani said.
His administration, he said, will, to quote Jadakiss, “be outside.”
In terms of specific policy proposals, Mamdani vowed to move forward with his plans for “universal child care for the many by taxing the wealthiest few,” freezing the rent and free buses.
“These policies are not simply about the costs we make free, but the lives we fill with freedom,” he said.
Speaking frequently of the city’s eight-and-a-half million people and their individual striving— making specific references to the various workers in transportation, food services, construction and libraries — Mamdani vowed to be a mayor for all New Yorkers, whether they voted for him or not.
“If you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor,” he said. “Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you.”
In answer to the question “who does New York belong to,” Mamdani said the city, quoting South Africa’s freedom charter, “belongs to all who live in it.”
The future in Mamdani’s New York, he said, “will be a tale of eight-and-a-half million cities, each of them a New Yorker with hopes and fears, each a universe, each of them woven together.”
He added, “Here, where the language of the New Deal was born, we will return the vast resources of this city to the workers who call it home. Not only will we make it possible for every New Yorker to afford a life they love once again — we will overcome the isolation that too many feel, and connect the people of this city to one another.”
And Mamdani said the movement that powered him to victory “didn’t end with the election” but instead “lives on with every battle we will fight together. … No longer will we treat victory as an invitation to turn off the news.”
He advocated for a “government by New York, of New York and for New York.”
Wrapping up, he spoke of how his New York could be a city on a hill.
“We will do something that New Yorkers do better than anyone else: We will set an example for the world,” he said, aiming for a future like the one Frank Sinatra seeks in “New York, New York,” where “anyone can make it in New York — and anywhere else too.”
Mamdani’s speech ended with a storm of blue and yellow confetti as he took the hand of his wife Rama Duwaji, and the pair waved to the crowd.
Mamdani was joined at the inaugural ceremony, where Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Comptroller Mark Levine were also formally sworn in, by his family, including Duwaji and parents, filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered opening remarks while Attorney General Letitia James swore in Levine. Other politicians spotted on the dais included outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The event, which Mamdani’s star-studded inaugural committee opened to all New Yorkers, also featured a number of entertainment industry figures. Hamilton and In the Heights actor Javier Muñoz sang the National Anthem. Mandy Patinkin sang “Over the Rainbow” along with a Staten Island elementary school chorus. And Lucy Dacus performed the labor anthem “Bread and Roses.”
More to come.
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