Socialist NYC Mayor Mamdani Inaugurated Alongside Bernie Sanders and AOC On New Year’s Day
[Videos below.] New York City officially entered a new political chapter on Thursday as Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor following his upset victory in November, a result Sen. Bernie Sanders described as “the greatest political upset in modern history.”
The formal inauguration took place on New Year’s Day afternoon outside City Hall, drawing a large crowd to lower Manhattan. The public ceremony followed a midnight swearing-in earlier in the day, when New York Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath of office. According to Mamdani’s campaign, he used a Quran during that midnight ceremony, making him the first Muslim to serve as mayor of New York City and the first to be sworn in using a Quran.
Mamdani, 34, made clear from the outset that he intends to govern without diluting his political identity. Addressing the crowd during his inaugural remarks, he said, “I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”
He went further, signaling an expansive view of City Hall’s role and authority. “Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,” Mamdani said. He acknowledged the possibility of setbacks but rejected restraint as a governing principle. “To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.”
At several moments, the new mayor struck a conciliatory note, promising to serve residents across the political spectrum. “Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you,” he said.
The inauguration featured a lineup of prominent progressive allies. Sanders attended the ceremony, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered opening remarks, framing the moment as a turning point for the city. She said New Yorkers “have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times.”
“New York City has chosen the ambitious pursuit of universal child care, affordable rents and housing, and clean and dignified public transit for all,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And we have chosen that over the distractions of bigotry and the barbarism of extreme income inequality. We have chosen this path because we know that it’s the right thing to do.”
Religious leaders also addressed the crowd. Imam Khalid Latif of the Islamic Center of New York City reflected on the city’s diversity and character, saying, “We gather today with hearts shaped by this city, by its noise in its neighborhoods, by its subways and sanctuaries, by the dreams carried in many languages, in the prayers whispered on crowded blocks.”
Latif continued, “We thank you for New York City, for a place that has taught the world how difference can become strength, how survival can become solidarity, how strangers can become neighbors. And for being a place that taught us that a young immigrant, Democratic socialist Muslim can be bold enough to run and brave enough to win, not by abandoning conviction, but by standing firmly within it, not by shrinking who he is, but by trusting that authenticity can move a city towards justice.”
Mamdani was elected in November after a campaign centered on affordability in the nation’s largest city. He prevailed despite sustained criticism over his past anti-Israel statements and associations, as well as his embrace of socialist policies such as freezing rents, creating city-run grocery stores, and earlier comments supporting defunding the police and abolishing private property.
According to Mamdani’s transition team, the 1 p.m. inauguration was open to “all New Yorkers,” with plans for a “huge inaugural block party” to follow along Broadway in the Canyon of Heroes.
