Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2026-01-02 Friday

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

Democracy Now! Friday, January 2, 2026

From New York, this is Democracy Now. I was elected as a Democratic Socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic Socialist. Zoran Mamdani has been sworn in as New York City mayor. He was officially sworn in just after midnight into Thursday and made history as New York's first Muslim, first South Asia, and first African-born mayor. And at the age of 34, the city's youngest mayor in more than a century. In a public ceremony attended by thousands on Thursday, he was sworn in by independent Senator Bernie Sanders. on the steps of City Hall. You showed the world the most important lesson that can be learned today.

And that is that when working people stand together, when we don't let them divide us up, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. Today will feature part of Mayor Mamdani's inaugurates. including remarks from Senator Sanders and Congress member Alexandria Casio-Cortez as well as Zoran Mamdani himself. 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.

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. All that and more coming up. Welcome to DemocracyNow. Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Democratic Socialists, Oran Mamdani, has been sworn in as the mayor of New York City. He's made history as New York's first Muslim, first South Asian, first African-born mayor, and at the age of 34, the city's youngest mayor in generations.

At midnight on January 1st, New York Attorney General Lettisha James swore in Mamdani in a private ceremony in a decommissioned subway station below City Hall. Mamdani took the oath, placing his hand on two Korans held by his wife, Syrian-American artist Ramaduaji. On Thursday afternoon, Senator Bernie Sanders swore in Mamdani again in a large public ceremony outside City Hall and below freezing weather. During his inaugural address, Mamdani repeated his campaign vow to make the city more affordable. We will answer to all New Yorkers, not to any billionaire or oligarch who thinks they can buy our democracy. We will govern without shame and insecurity, making no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist. After the inauguration, Mayor Mamdani traveled to a Brooklyn housing complex where he signed three executive orders

designed to tackle the city's housing crisis. In doing so, we will protect tenants already long neglected from further neglect, and we will mitigate the significant risk of displacement they currently face. For too long, bad landlords have been allowed to mistreat their tenants with impunity. That ends today. Mamdani also revoked all executive orders. signed by former mayor Eric Adams that were issued after Adams was indicted on federal bribery charges, September 26, 2024.

We'll air more highlights from Mamdani's inauguration, including much of his speech after headlines. The world's 500 richest people added a record $2.2 trillion to their collective fortunes in 2025. That's according to the blue. Bloomberg billionaires index, which found just eight billionaires accounted for about a quarter of those gains. Meanwhile, millions of U.S. residents have been hit by soaring health insurance premiums after Republican lawmakers' thwarted Democrat efforts to extend affordable Care Act tax subsidies, which expired December 31st. The Urban Institute and Commonwealth Fund forecast the higher premiums

will force some 4.8 million people to drop their coverage this year. This is Reuters reports at least 350 branded medications will likely see price increases this year, including vaccines against COVID, RSV, and shingles, and a blockbuster cancer treatment. On Thursday, minimum wage increases took effect across 19 states, averaging 60. cents an hour. But the federal minimum wage remained unchanged with the start of the new year as it has for the past 16 years. In response, Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders wrote, quote, a $7.25 federal minimum wage is a national disgrace. No one who works full time should live in poverty. We must keep fighting to guarantee all workers a living wage, not starvation wages, unquote. President Trump rang in new year by throwing a lavish party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The event featured caviar champagne and an artist who rapidly painted a picture of Jesus on stage. It was auctioned off for over $2.7 million with proceeds benefiting a children's charity and the local sheriff's department. Among those in attendance were Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem, who was filmed dancing with White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, as the rapper Vanilla Ice performed his 1990 hit, Ice Ice Baby. since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant seeking his arrest for war crimes

and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. President Trump was asked what his New Year's resolution will be for the coming year to which he responded, peace on earth. In Gaza, another Palestinian child has died of exposure due to cold, wet weather, and a lack of proper shelter. Malaccar amygh. It was just a few weeks old, one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forced to shelter in flimsy tents, offering little to no protection from the elements.

Separately, the United Nations reported a Palestinian boy drowned in floods that inundated the tent camp where his family lived. This, as the Palestinian Meteorological Department warned of even more cold and wet weather ahead. Meanwhile, a ban by Israel on 37 international NGOs, including MSF, that's Doctors Without Borders, effect with the new year. Aid groups, the United Nations, and at least 10 foreign ministers have condemned the move, warning it will exacerbate Gaza's already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. This is Rames Abou Al-Neil, a displaced Palestinian living in Khan Yunus. Even with the presence of humanitarian organizations, the situation is already tragic.

If their support and presence are removed, God knows, What will happen? Many children will die. Lives will be destroyed. And many families will be devastated by this decision. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces intensified demolition operations in the North Shams refugee camp this week, flattening homes that housed about 100 Palestinian families. Israel's military claim the home demolitions targeted Palestinian resistance groups. Residents say they were in a legal form of collective punishment. Nine people live in the house. My husband is disabled.

We don't have a way to get money. The house was our home, and now we don't have any other place to live in. No one is supporting us financially or helping us. I have nobody helping me. What can I say? The home demolitions came as Israeli authorities approved plans to build 126 new housing units for Jewish settlers in a northern West Bank outposts that Israel evacuated. in 2005. In Turkey, hundreds of thousands of protesters rang in the new year Thursday with a

protest march demanding an end to Israel's genocide in Palestine. Turkish media report more than 400 civil society organizations participated in the protests which saw over a half a million people march across Istanbul's Galata Bridge. The U.S. military has blown up at least five more boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. killing reportedly at least eight people. Since September, the U.S. has claimed credit for striking 36 boats in the region. The Pentagon claims all the boats were carrying drugs, but has not provided evidence. Meanwhile, Russia's asked the United States to stop pursuing an oil tanker, which have been sailing toward Venezuela to pick up oil. In recent days, the vessel was added to Russia's

ship registry, and a Russian flag has been painted on its side. The developments come, as the U.S. intensifies military pressure on Venezuela. On Thursday, Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro said he's open to holding talks with the U.S. Russia's accused Ukraine of killing 24 people and wounding 50 and drone strikes on a cafe and hotel in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine's Gerson region. This comes amidst a renewed push to end the war. In a New Year's address, the Ukrainian president, Velo Tamer Zelensky, said a peace deal is 90 percent ready. What does Ukraine want? Peace?

Yes. At any cost, no. We want the end of the war, not the end of Ukraine. Are we tired? Extremely. Does that mean we are ready to surrender? Those who think so are deeply mistaken. President Trump's announced he's withdrawing national.

Guard troops from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon, at least for now. The announcement came a week after the Supreme Court blocked the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to the Chicago area. Officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, are planning to spend $100 million over a one-year period to recruit gun rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers and a geotour. targeted advertising campaign. That's according to the Washington Post, which reports it's part of what the agency called a wartime recruitment strategy aimed at hiring thousands of new deportation officers nationwide. The recruitment drive is targeted at people who have attended UFC fights, listen to far right podcasts, are shown in interest in guns and tactical gear. It uses the ad industry technique known as geo-fencing to send ads to people who set foot near military bases,

NASCAR races, college campuses, or gun shows. The Trump administration's frozen federal child care funding to all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The Department of Health and Human Services says it'll only restore federal grants under the Child Care and Development Fund to states that provide more verification and administrative data about the funds they receive. The nationwide free free comes after HHS officials cutoff funding to Minnesota, citing a series of fraud schemes uncovered in that state. And after Vice President J.D. Vance and other Trump administration officials amplified a deceptively edited video posted by the far-right influencer Nick Shirley, who recently visited Somali-owned daycare sites in Minnesota and alleged with little evidence he'd uncovered over $100 million in fraud.

And in Iran, mass protests are continuing over the country's dire economic situation. At least seven people have been killed amidst clashes with security forces and palomilitary groups. Early this morning, President Trump warned on social media the United States may intervene, writing, quote, if Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. we are locked and loaded and ready to go, President Trump wrote. Iranian officials warned U.S. interference could destabilize the entire region. Speaking on Thursday, the Iranian president, Massoud Pezashkian, acknowledge the Iranian government bears responsibility for Iran's economic problems.

People are dissatisfied. We are at fault. You are at fault. Do not go after. America as the one to blame? Do not go after, I don't know, some other person. It is we who must serve and they must be satisfied with us. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Democratic Socialists Zoran Mamdani has been sworn in as the mayor of New York City. He was officially sworn in just after midnight on New Year's Eve. He's made history as New York's first Muslim, first South Asian, and first African-born mayor,

and at the age of 34, the city's youngest mayor in more than a century. Ahead of a public ceremony that drew thousands of people in below freezing weather, Mamdani was sworn in privately at midnight, New Year's Eve, by New York. York Attorney General Tish James in a small ceremony in an old decommissioned subway station below City Hall. Five, four, three, two, one. Good evening, everyone, and happy new year to all of you. And I can't think of a better way to usher in 2026 than to be amongst family and friends.

and to inaugurate the man who will bring about a new era of progress, promise, and prosperity for New York City. As the New York Attorney General Tish James swore in Zoran Mamdani, he's placed his hand on top of two Korans held by his wife, the Syrian-American artist Ramaduaji, including one that belonged to his grandfather, making him the first New York City mayor to use Islam's holy text at his inauguration. This is Mayor Mamdani. Thank you so much for everyone for being here. Happy New Year to New Yorkers, both inside this tunnel and above. And I cannot wait to see everyone tomorrow as we begin our term.

This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime. And after just having taken my oath to become the mayor of the city of New York, I do so also here in the old City Hall subway station, a testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health, the legacy of our city. That was just after midnight on January 1st. on Thursday afternoon, Senator Bernie Sanders swore in Zoran Mamdani again in a huge public ceremony at City Hall in the freezing weather. We'll hear more of that soon. But first, this is Andrew Epstein, one of the key people who helped steer Mayor Mamdani's long-shot campaign, who talked to democracy now just before he was sworn in the second time on the steps of City Hall about the significant of Mayor Mamdani's midnight swearing in.

My name is Andrew Epstein. I was the communications director and later the creative director on Zoran's campaign for mayor. I'm now an advisor. And last night, we were just below where we are right now in the old City Hall station, built in 1905, decommissioned in the 1940s when Fiorella LaGuardia was mayor, because the trains got longer and the platform was too short. But it remains beautifully intact in its original form. Last night, the small number of guests and reporters were brought downstairs, waited on the platform, and a six train.

Now, this is the station where the six train typically turns around, but a six train pulled in. First, Mira Nair and Mahmoud Mamd Mahdani, and the families stepped off the first car on the train. Mamdani's mother and father. Mamdani's mother and father. The great filmmaker and the Columbia professor. Absolutely right. as well as the first lady Ramaduaji's parents, their guests as well, stepped off of the first train,

and then the next one pulled up, pulled up a little farther, and off-stepped. Then the mayor-elect and his wife, Rama. They walked up under the arch that says City Hall Station, and at midnight, Attorney General Tish James, administer the oath of office, and then Zoran, the mayor, had to pay his $9 in cash to the clerk of the, city and sign his name into the book. And I had a great conversation with the clerk. He has physical bound books where every single mayor, going back to the early 19th century, has signed their name. Because before the days of photo ID, you know, you match the signature. How are you going

to prove someone is who they are? So he actually is in possession of these bound volumes. We had the 21st century one. So it had Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams. In his office, he has 20th century, 19th century. Why $9?00? That's a lot. That's a lot. That's a a good question. It was 25 cents until this century, and then they thought maybe inflation vandal it a little bit more now. That was Andrew Epstein,

the communications director and later creative director on Zaron Mamdani's campaign for mayor. He's now an advisor. When we come back, we'll hear more from Friday's historic inauguration, from Thursday's historic inauguration ceremony

on the steps of City Hall where thousands brave the first and cold to participate. Stay with us. When all the world is a hopeless jumble, and the raindrops tumble all around, heaven opens a magic lane. When all the clouds darken up the skyway,

there's a rainbow highway to be found. Leading from your window pane To a place behind the sun Just a step beyond the rain Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, performed by Mandy Pattenkin and PS22 chorus of Staten Island students yesterday at Mayor Zoron-Mam-Dan.

Annoy's inauguration, New Year's Day, on the steps of City Hall. The song was written by the blacklisted lyricist, Yip Harbourg. See our December 25th show on The Wizard of Oz where the song came from about its significance. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. as we continue coverage of the historic inauguration of Democratic Socialists or on Mamdani as the mayor of New York City. We'll hear in a minute from his fellow socialist, Congress member Alexandra Casio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, who swore in Mamdani on the steps of City Hall.

But first, thousands of New Yorkers turned out in below-freezing temperatures and police barricades to be part of Mamdani. inauguration with many joining a block party with a marching band. Democracy Now's Maria Tarcena spoke to some of them. So my name is Diana Moreno. I'm running for assembly to succeed our Mamadani in the assembly because we know that he cannot do this alone. He's going to need allies in Albany. to be unwavering in our mission to deliver the affordable New York that he ran on. And I'm so thrilled to be part of that movement. And it is a collective movement.

I'm not doing it alone as an individual. I'm doing it as a democratic socialist, fighting for my child's future and for my neighbors. For many around the country, New York is sort of a symbol of the power of organizing after Mayor Mamdani won the election by a landslide. What is your message to other people around the country who are looking at New York? as a path forward for the rest of the nation. Organized people will always be more powerful than organized money. We defeated the most powerful forces on the planet, not just a political dynasty for Cuomo, but the people who funded him,

which are the same people that funded Trump. The path forward towards actual democracy is organized people that are ready, ready to fight for our children, for our future, for our planet. And Zoran has shown us that we can do this. My name is Glenn Kantav, and the reason why I'm here is because this literally is such a unique opportunity to show the entire country what it looks like when you have billionaires out the way and you have someone in control who is accountable to the people like this is a case study that the rest of the country can observe a lot of

people think that Zora Mamdani is a once-in-a-generation talent and I think he's an incredible person I back him all the way but the reality is that There are so many Zorans throughout the entire country, but they get outspent. And so if Americans can see a model of what equitable leadership really looks like, it can empower other Zorans to come out the poll. My name is Ariel Seura. I am a teenager here in New York City. And throughout Mayor Mondani's campaign, two things that I'm really proud that I was able to do,

is one, go out, canvas, be out there on Election Day to make sure that we get those last-minute voters in. to get the outcome that we have today. You're here with your friends. You're all a part of history. You canvass personally for Mayor Mamdani. What inspired you to do that? I mean, like, again, I think it's just like Mr. Mom Donnie

as compared to other politicians that, you know, just say things that are kind of persuasive, he's really listening to the people and he's really getting those issues that we, see on a day-to-day basis. I mean, fast and free buses, I take the bus at least once a month in my neighborhood. Same with public transport. When it comes to universal child care, I know that I, as a kid, I had to stay with other family members that my parents had to pay. It was a struggle for them to do these things, and I watched these issues in my day-to-day life.

Mahmoud Halil, you were released from ICE detention a few months ago earlier this year. You're now at the inauguration of New York City Mayor Mamdani. What does this moment mean for you? I mean, it's a great moment. I'm very optimistic to raise my child who was born when I was in detention, to raise him under the mayorship of Mamdani. It's a great moment for all of us. It means that standing up for human rights,

for Palestinian rights, would it mean that you don't get elected? Despite all the odds, Zohran made it. And this is what other politicians in this country should understand that Palestine is no longer a liability for their platform, that they actually should speak out for Palestine. My name is Anna Maria Archela. I'm the co-director of the New York Working Families Party. The more than 100,000 volunteers that were part of Zoran's campaign,

went to knock on doors, not just to ask people to vote for Zoranamani, but actually to say, I will fight for you. I will commit to you that we will freeze the rent, that we will make universal child care available to everybody, that we will make buses fast and free. It was a politics of solidarity, a politics of mutual commitment, and a politics of optimism in a moment when there is so much darkness surrounding us. Just some of the thousands of people who came out to participate

in the inauguration ceremony of Zoran Mamdani as the mayor of New York on New Year's Day. Special thanks to Marie Yanez Tadasena and Sam Alcoff. Yes, Democratic Social Zoroan Mamdani has made history as New York's first Muslim, first South Asian, first African-born mayor, and at the age of 34, the city's youngest mayor, in more than a century. During the public New Year's Day ceremony on the steps of City Hall, he was introduced by Congressmember Alexandra Casio-Cortez. New York, we have chosen courage over fear.

We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few. And when the entrenched ways would rather have us dig in our feet and seek refuge in the past, we have chosen instead to turn towards making a new new future for all of us. In Zohran Mamdani, we have chosen a mayor who is relentlessly dedicated to making life not just possible but aspirational for working people. New York City has chosen the ambitious pursuit of universal child care, affordable rent and housing, and clean and dignified public transit for all. 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, it's the smart thing to do, and that if we can make it here, we can make it anywhere. New York City, this is an inauguration for all of us because choosing this mayor and this vision is an ambitious pursuit. It calls on all of us to return to public life and mass. Now is the time for us to turn towards our neighbors, stand with them, and return to community life. A city for all will require our neighbors. all of us, to fill our streets, our schools, our houses of faith, our PTAs and our block

associations, as we support this mayor in making an affordable city a reality for all of us. Zohran Mamdani will be the first Muslim mayor of our great city. He will be our first immigrant mayor in over a century. And he will be the youngest mayor of New York City in generations. But most importantly, Zohran will be a mayor for all of us. With that, let us extend our deepest well-wishes and support to Zohran, his wife Rama, and his family, as well as those of our public advocate, Jumani Williams, and controller Mark Levine. We send you, your spouses and families, and all your loved ones, all the support in the world as you embark on this great pursuit of a better city and future for all.

Felicitides. That was Congress member Alexandria Casio-Cortez, welcoming people to New York Mayor Zohan Mamdani's inauguration. The ceremony also included National Book Award finalists, inaugural poet Cornelius. who recited his original poem, Proof. The poem is called proof. Proof. You have to imagine it. Who said you were too dark, too large, too queer, too loud.

Who said you were too? too poor, too strange, too fat. You have to imagine it. Who said you must keep quiet? Who heard your story, then roll their eyes? Who tried to change your name to invisible? You've got to imagine. Who heard your name?

and refused to pronounce it. Who checked their watch and said, not now? James Baldwin wrote, The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it. New York, City of Invention, Roiling Town, Refresher and Renewer, New York, City of the Rio will the canyons whisper in a hundred tongues, New York, where your lucky self waits for your arrival, where there is always soil for your root. This is our time. The taste of us, the spice of us, the hollers and the rhythms and the beats of us, the hollers and the rhythms and the beats of us.

us in the echo of our ancestors who made certain we know who we are. City of insistence, city of resistance, you have to imagine an army that wins without firing a bullet, a joy that wears down the rock of no. Up from insults, up from block doors, up from trick bags, up from fear, up from shame, up from the way it was done before. You have to imagine that space they said wasn't yours, that time they said you'd never own. the invisible city lit on its way. This moment is our proof. Thank you.

National Book Award finalist and inaugural poet Cornelius Edie. The New Year's Day inauguration ceremony included the swearing-in of Mark Levine as the city controller. He placed his hand on the Torah, the book of Hebrew scripture as he took his oath. As New York City public advocate,

Jamani Williams, a son of immigrants from Grenada, was sworn in on his father's Bible. He began to cry as he addressed part of his speech to his younger self. I don't know if when my mother, my Grenadian mother arrived as a teenager, she hoped that a half a century later, her son would speak from these steps.

But she could have. because here in New York City, we choose to celebrate possibility and work to make reality. I wish I can go back and tell my youngest self that. Instead, I'll say to my daughters today, to the children of the Perez Alaneda family, to everyone who may question their own worth like I did, or whether it's worth fighting for the city with all its contradictions and problems and possibilities. And I've got to take a second to say something to so many young people who are out there. And I'm going to say to one person who's waited 49 years to hear it, little black boy, you were worth it.

And you always were. And without any titles, you were enough. You were always enough. And you deserve to accept love. and you deserve to be protected. And I'm honored to be here to help create a city that's worthy of that for you. And I'm so proud of you.

So just hold on. We're going to be all right. We're going to be all right. I'm so proud of you. As we head into a new year, our new term, I want to ask all of you to take an oath of me. Our neighbors, I know in Brazil, adopted this motto. I've tried to embody, I did hear it for Compto Lander, but I've got to give him his credit. That no one let go of anyone's hands, because if we're all connected, we can't lose anyone.

So we hold on to the hand of our neighbor And we reach out with our other hand To grasp someone who may fall through the cracks And we bring them along I want everyone if they're comfortable Take a hand of the person next you or the arm And just repeat after me We can all be the voice of the people

I know what's ahead But I won't lose hold And I won't lose hope Anything can happen So anything can happen and as we march forward no one let go of anyone's hands peace

New York City public advocate Jumani Williams when we come back we'll hear some of the comments of independent Senator Bernie Sanders who swore Mayor Mamdani into office and we'll hear a large part of Mayor Mamdani's address. Stay with us. As we go marching, marching in the beauty of the day,

a million darkened kitchens, a thousand mil-off's gray are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses. For the people here are sick. Bread and roses, bread and roses. As we go marching, marching, we battle to form men, for they are women's children, and we... Bread and roses, performed by Lucidacus at the New Year's Day in August. of Mayor Mamdani.

This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. I'm Amy Goodman. We continue our coverage of the New Year's Day inauguration of the Democratic Socialists Zora Mamdani as the mayor of New York City. It was below freezing, huge public ceremony outside City Hall with thousands attending. We turn now to Independent Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders, originally from Brooklyn, who swore in Mamdani. I'm here mostly to thank the people of New York City.

At a time in our country's history, when we are seeing too much hatred, too much divisiveness, and too much injustice, thank you for electing Zeran Mamdadi as your mayor. New York, thank you for inspiring our nation. Thank you for giving us from coast to coast the hope and the vision that we can create government that works for all, not just the wealthy and the few. At a moment when people in America and in fact throughout the world are losing faith in democracy, over 90,000 of you in this city volunteered for Zeran's campaign. You knocked on doors. You shared your dreams and your hopes for the future of the world.

this city. And in the process, you took on the Democratic establishment, the Republican establishment, the president of the United States, and some enormously wealthy oligarchs. And you defeated them in the biggest political upset. in modern American history. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, speaking just before he swore in Democratic socials, Zora Mamdani, as the mayor of New York. Yes, Mayor Mamdani made history as New York's first Muslim, first South Asian, first African-born mayor at the age of 34, the youngest mayor of New York in generations. This is part of Mayor Mamdani's historic inaugural address.

My fellow New Yorkers, today begins a new era. I stand before you, moved by the privilege of taking this sacred oath, humbled by the faith that you have placed in me, and honored to serve as either your 111th or 112th mayor of New York City. But I do not stand alone. I stand alongside you, the tens of thousands of you gathered here in lower Manhattan, warmed against the January chill by the resurgent flame of hope. 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. I stand alongside construction workers in steel-toed boots and halal cart vendors whose knees ache from working all day. I stand alongside neighbors who carry a plate of food to the elderly couple down the hall. Those in a rush who still lift strangers strollers up subway stairs, and every person who makes the choice day after day, even when it feels impossible, to call our city home. I stand alongside over one million New Yorkers who voted for this day nearly two months ago. And I stand just as resolutely alongside those who did not. I know there are some who view this administration with distrust.

or disdain, or who see politics as permanently broken. And while only action can change minds, I promise you this. If you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor. And most of all, thank you to the people of New York. A moment like this comes rarely. seldom do we hold such an opportunity to transform and reinvent. Rare or still is it the people themselves whose hands are the ones upon the levers of change.

And yet we know that too often in our past moments of great possibility have been promptly surrendered to small imagination and smaller ambition. What was promised was never pursued. What could have changed remained the, same. For the New Yorkers most eager to see our city remade, the weight has only grown heavier, the weight has only grown longer. In writing this address, I have been told that this is the occasion to reset expectations, that I should use this opportunity to encourage the people of New York to ask for little and expect even less. 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. To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this. say this, no longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers' lives. For too long, we have turned to the private sector for greatness while accepting mediocrity from those who serve the public. I cannot blame anyone who has come to question the role of government, whose faith in democracy has been eroded by decades of apathy. We will restore

that trust by walking a different path. One where government is no longer solely the final recourse for those struggling. One where excellence is no longer the exception. We expect greatness from the cooks wielding a thousand spices, from those who stride out onto our Broadway stages, and from our starting point guard at Madison Square Garden. Let us demand the same from those who work in government. In a city where the mere names of our streets are associated with the innovation of the industries that call them home, we will make the word city hall synonymous with both resolve and results. As we embark upon this work, let us advance a new question, a new answer to the question asked of every generation. Who does New York belong to? For much of our

history, the response from City Hall has been simple. It belongs only to the wealthy and well-connected, those who never strained to capture the attention of those in power. Working people have reckoned with the consequences. Crowded classrooms and public housing developments where the elevator sit out of orders. Roads littered with potholes and buses that arrive half an hour late, if at all. Wages that do not rise in corporations that rip off consumers. and employees alike. Who does New York belong to? Well, my friends, we can look to Madiba and the South African Freedom Charter. New York belongs to all who live in it. Together, we will tell a new story of our city. This will not be a tale of one city governed only by the one percent, nor will

be a tale of two cities, the rich versus the poor. It 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. The authors of this story will speak Pashto and Mandarin, Yiddish and Creole. They will pray in mosques, at shul, at church, at Gurdwaras, and Mandirs and temples, and many will not pray at all. They will be Russian Jewish immigrants in Brighton, Beach, Italians in Rossville and Irish families in Woodhaven, many of whom came here with nothing but a dream of a better life, a dream which has withered away. They will be young people in cramped Marble Hill apartments where the walls shake when the subway passes. They will be black homeowners

in St. Albans, whose homes represent a physical testament to triumph over decades of lesser paid labor and redlining. They will be Palestinian New Yorkers. in Bay Ridge, who will no longer have to contend with a politics that speaks of universalism and then makes them the exception. Few of these eight and a half million will fit into neat and easy boxes. Some will be voters from Hillside Avenue or Fordham Road who supported President Trump a year before they voted for me, tired of being failed by their party's establishment, the majority will not use the language that we often expect from those

who wield influence. I welcome the change. For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty. Many of these people have been betrayed by the established order, but in our administration, their needs will be met. Their hopes and dreams and interests will be reflected transparently in government. They will shape our future. And if for too long, these communities have existed as distinct from one another, we will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it.

Because no matter what you eat, how you pray, or where you come from, the words that most define us are the two we all share, New Yorkers. And it will be New Yorkers who reform a long broken property tax system. New Yorkers who will create a new department of community safety that will tackle the mental health crisis and let the police focus on the job they signed up to do. New Yorkers who will take on the bad landlords who mistreat their tenants and free small business owners from the shackles of bloated bureaucracy.

And I am proud to be one of those New Yorkers. When we won the primary last June, there were many who said these aspirations and those who held them had come out of nowhere. Yet one man's nowhere is another man somewhere. This movement came out of eight and a half, million somewheres, taxi cab depots and Amazon warehouses, DSA meetings and curbside domino gains, the powers that B had looked away from these places for quite some time if they'd

known about them at all. So they dismissed them as nowhere. But in our city, where every corner of these five boroughs holds power, there is no nowhere, there is no no one. There is only New York, and there are only New Yorkers. Eight and a half million New Yorkers will speak this new era into existence. It will be loud. It will be different. It will feel like the New York we love. No matter how long you have called this city home, that love has shaped your life. I know that it has shaped mine.

This is the city where I set land speed records on my razor scooter at the age of 12. Quickest four blocks of my life. The city where I ate powdered donuts at half times during AYSO soccer games and realized I probably was not going to be going pro. The city where I devoured two big slices at Coronet's Pizza, played cricket with my friends at Ferry Point Park, and took the one train to the BX-10 only to still show up late to Bronx Science. The city where I have gone on hunger strike just outside these gates.

Sat claustrophobic on a stalled end train just after Atlantic Avenue and waited in quiet terror for my father to emerge from 26 federal plaza. The city where I took a beautiful woman named Rama. to McCarran Park on our first date and swore a different oath to become an American citizen on Pearl Street. To live in New York, to love New York, is to know that we are the stewards of something without equal in our world. Where else can you hear the sound of the steel pan, savor the smell of Sancocho, and pay $9 for coffee on the same block? where else could a Muslim kid like me grow up eating bagels and locks every Sunday that love will be our guide as we pursue our agenda 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. The cost of child care will no longer discourage young adults from starting a family because we will deliver universal child care for the many by taxing the wealthiest few. those in rent-stabilized homes will no longer dread the latest rent hike because we will freeze the rent getting on a bus without worrying about a fair hike

or whether you'll be able to get to your destination on time will no longer be deemed a small miracle because we will make those buses fast and free These policies are not simply about the costs we make free, but the lives we fill with freedom. For too long in our city, freedom has belonged only to those who can afford to buy it. Our City Hall will change that. These promises carried our movement to City Hall, and they will carry us from the rallying cries of a campaign to the realities of a new era in politics. Two Sundays ago, as snow softly fell, I spent 12 hours at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria,

listening to New Yorkers from every borough as they told me about the city that is theirs. We discussed construction hours on the Van Wick Expressway and EBT eligibility, affordable housing for artists and ice raids. I spoke to a man named T.J. who said that one day a few years, ago. His heart broke as he realized that he would never get ahead here, no matter how hard he worked. I spoke to a Pakistani auntie named Samina who told me that this movement had fostered something too rare, softness in people's hearts. As she said to me in Urdu, Logo of the people who are

142 New Yorkers out of 8.5 million. And yet, if anything united each person sitting across from me, it was the shared recognition that this moment demands a new politics and a new approach to power.

We will deliver nothing less as we work each day to make this city belong to more of its people than it did the day before. Here is what I want you to expect from the administration that this morning moved into the building behind me. We will transform the culture of City Hall from one of no to one of how.

We will answer to all New Yorkers, not to any billionaire or oligarch who thinks they can buy our democracy. We will govern without shame. and insecurity, making no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist. New York City mayors are on Mamdani giving his inaugural address on New Year's Day on the steps of City Hall before thousands in sub-freezing weather as millions watch worldwide. To see the whole ceremony, everyone's speech is in full, go to DemocracyNow.org. After the inauguration, the mayor traveled to a Brooklyn housing complex

where he signed three executive orders to sign to tackle the city's housing crisis. Special thanks to Nirmieh, Connie Massoud, Maria Tarasana, Sam Alcoff. Treena Nudura. I'm Amy Goodman.