Key events
Edward Helmore
Zohran Mamdani now begins one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country’s closest-watched politicians whose platform promises free childcare, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1m households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.
But the estimated $10bn cost of providing those services may be hard to find. Mamdani has vowed to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and increase corporate taxes. But as a vassal city of the state government in Albany, he will need the legislative support of governor Kathy Hochul, who is running for re-election next year.
He’ll also have to deal with Donald Trump, who has labelled the new mayor a “communist” and threatened to withhold federal funding from the city. But a friendly meeting between the outer borough New Yorkers last month, where they bonded over building more housing in the city, surprised many expecting a political firework show.
“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Trump said.
Here are some more photos from the inauguration.
“The work, my friends, has only just begun,” says a beaming Mamdani, closing his speech.
Blue and gold confetti rains down on the crowd (who are freezing by the way!), whose spirits remain high.
“We will set an example for the world. If what Sinatra said is true, let us prove that anyone can make it in New York, and anywhere else too,” he says.
Mamdani is aware that the success of his administration will impact New York but will also have wider ramifications for the rest of the country.
“There are many who will be watching. They want to know if the left can govern,” he says.
As mayor of New York, Mamdani says he, like Jadakiss, will “be outside”.
He says he will not abandon his principles for fear of being deemed “radical”.
I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist.
Mamdani says his agenda will deliver “safety, affordability and abundance”.
He poses a new answer to the question, “Who does New York belong to?”
For too long, it has belonged to the “wealthy and well-connected”, he says. “Working people have reckoned with the consequences.”
Mamdani vows to govern ‘expansively and audaciously’ as he refuses to reset expectations
Mamdani says that in writing his remarks, he was advised to lower expectations.
I will do no such thing. The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.
Beginning today we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.
He also pays tribute to Bernie Sanders, calling him the man whose leadership he seeks most to emulate.
Mamdani also pays tribute to AOC, telling her: “You have paved the way for this moment.”
He graciously thanks his predecessor, Eric Adams, (whose name prompts boos from the crowd), adding:
I will always be touched that he chose me as the mayoral candidate that he would most want to be trapped with in an elevator.
Addressing those who didn’t vote for him, those who view him with “distrust and disdain”, and those who have lost faith in politics, he says:
While only action can change minds, I promise you this: if you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor.
He jokes that he is honored to serve as either the 111th or 112th mayor of New York City (after it emerged that the city may have been counting wrong for decades).
