Despite frigid temperatures, thousands of supporters from across the country gathered at City Hall on Thursday to witness the inauguration of New York City’s 112th and first Muslim Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
After a private swearing-in with New York Attorney General Letitia James at midnight in a City Hall subway station, Mamdani, 34, become the youngest mayor to take office in a century.
Mamdani, who was sworn in for the second time with a Quran by Senator Bernie Sanders, focused on working class New Yorkers in his inaugural speech.
"I stand alongside countless more New Yorkers watching from cramped kitchens in Flushing and barbershops in East New York, from cell phones propped against the dashboards of parked taxi cabs at LaGuardia, from hospitals in Mott Haven and libraries in El Barrio that have too long known only neglect," he said.
That said, he also tried to alleviate his critics: “If you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor. Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you.”
During his 24-minute-long speech, the mayor gave a brief mention to the Palestinian community in Bay Ridge. Despite mass support, a counterprotest took place across the street from City Hall with Israeli flags and signs saying “Zohran ‘Globalize the Intifada' Mamdani.”
The protest did not cause a disruption big enough to keep the mayor from speaking. “To live in New York, to love New York, is to know that we are the stewards of something without equal in our world," he said.
Sanders touched on the disapproval Mamdani received from people who claimed his ideas and policies would be "too radical." The senator also mentioned Mamdani’s plan to tax the billionaires in the city in order to build a universal childcare system, a mention that elicited a "Tax the rich” chant from the crowd.
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the welcoming speaker, said New Yorkers will now see an "new era" under Mamdani's leadership.
“It is the people of New York City who have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times,” she said.
Although Mamdani had advertised a block party-style inauguration, supporters were met with barricaded pens leading to a big screen showing the inauguration, without food or special events.
The inauguration, which started roughly 30 minutes late, was emceed by Bernie Wagenblast, a voice-over artist and journalist, and contained multiple musical acts including Mandy Patinkin singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow alongside a choir from P.S. 22, and Grammy-winner Lucy Dacus, who sang Bread and Roses.
The City Hall celebration also inaugurated Mark Levine as the new City Comptroller and Jumaane Williams as Public Advocate.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher for working families to pay their rent, to find a job with a living wage… A comptroller must use the tools of the office to close this gap. And I will,” said Levine.
During his inauguration speech, Levine noted the importance of multiple texts of worship being used to swear in city officials: a Quran, a Bible and a Chumash (a Torah in book form). “I am proud to live in a city where this is possible.”
Williams, who made headlines last year for attending protests and for his advocacy work at 26 Federal Plaza against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, said he's long-been an official who pushed back. "Now, I see the chance to push forward," he said.
“I’ve seen the darkness, of course, yet I look out on New York today and I see so much light," Williams said. "These contradictions mean we can at once love our city as it is and challenge its flaws – not as a reason for pessimism, but a call for activism."
Mamdani noted he is ready to get to work on day one.
“The work continues, the work endures, the work, my friends, has only just begun," he said.
