Zohran Mamdani: “I Will Govern as a Democratic Socialist”
In his inauguration speech yesterday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani assured the people of New York City that the era of small expectations from city government is over. We reprint his address here in full.
Senator Bernie Sanders shakes hands with Mayor Zohran Mamdani after Mamdani’s ceremonial inauguration at City Hall on January 1, 2026, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado / Getty Images)
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 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.
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