Fresh off his historic win as New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani announced that an all-women team of former city and federal officials will lead his transition to City Hall. Mamdani, the first Muslim and South Asian mayor in over a century, pledged to “work every day to honor the trust” New Yorkers placed in him.
The announcement highlights Mamdani’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and effective governance. His transition team will focus on ensuring a smooth handover of city operations, tackling key challenges, and setting priorities for his administration. This milestone reflects a broader shift in political leadership toward representation and empowerment.
#ZohranMamdani #NYCMayor #CityHallTransition #AllWomenTeam #HistoricWin #NewYorkPolitics #DiversityInLeadership #InclusiveGovernment #PoliticalLeadership #MayorElect #NYCUpdate
The announcement highlights Mamdani’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and effective governance. His transition team will focus on ensuring a smooth handover of city operations, tackling key challenges, and setting priorities for his administration. This milestone reflects a broader shift in political leadership toward representation and empowerment.
#ZohranMamdani #NYCMayor #CityHallTransition #AllWomenTeam #HistoricWin #NewYorkPolitics #DiversityInLeadership #InclusiveGovernment #PoliticalLeadership #MayorElect #NYCUpdate
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Last night we made history. I'm so proud to be standing here today as the mayor-elect of the
00:07greatest city in the world. Over two million New Yorkers cast their ballots. Whether they
00:14were the more than million who supported this campaign or the others who supported someone else
00:20or whether they felt too disappointed by the political process to participate at all,
00:25I will work every day to honor the trust that I now hold. The poetry of campaigning may have come
00:32to a close last night at 9, but the beautiful prose of governing has only just begun. The
00:39hard work of improving New Yorkers' lives starts now. That process begins with transition. In the
00:47coming months, I and my team will build a City Hall capable of delivering on the promises of this
00:54campaign. We will form an administration that is in equal parts capable and compassionate,
01:00driven by integrity, and willing to work just as hard as the millions of New Yorkers who
01:06call this city home. And central to that effort is a transition team that is defined by the
01:12excellence New Yorkers will soon come to expect from government. Our team will be directed by
01:19Ilana Leopold, whose roots in this city extend back to her grandmother running the trams on
01:24Roosevelt Island. She has extensive experience in city government and has been a key part of our
01:29campaign to become the next mayor of this city. And it will be led by our formidable co-chairs,
01:35former Federal Trade Commissioner Chair Lina Khan, former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres Springer,
01:42United Way President and CEO Grace Bonilla, and former Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services,
01:49Melanie Hartzog. Over the coming days, we'll start announcing the leaders who will implement our
01:56agenda. People like deputy mayors who oversee entire areas of government, and the commissioners who carry
02:03out the critical work of city agencies. Some of these people will have familiar names, others will not.
02:10What will unite them will be a commitment to solving old problems with new solutions. We will cast a wide net,
02:17we will speak to the organizers on the front lines of the fight to improve our city, government veterans
02:24with proven track records, policy experts from around the country and the world, and working people who know
02:30better than anyone what their neighborhoods need. Throughout this campaign, I have worked hard to be
02:36accessible and transparent with New Yorkers. That same spirit will animate this transition, and the City Hall we build,
02:42because New Yorkers deserve a government that they can trust. And on January 1st, when our city celebrates the
02:50inauguration of a new administration, let us also celebrate a new era for our city. One that we all feel invested in, and whose
02:58success we all work to achieve. Now, it is my pleasure to invite Ilana Leopold to deliver a few words. Thank you.
03:10Thank you. Good morning. My name is Ilana Leopold, and I'm very honored to serve as the Executive Director of
03:16Mayor-Elect Mamdani's leadership team. I want to thank Zoran for his faith in me, both on the campaign trail and in this
03:23next exciting chapter of this movement. As a third-generation New Yorker, raised in Michalama Housing and educated at CUNY, I bring to this work a deep appreciation for the city's
03:26promise and a commitment to expanding it for others. I love the city deeply, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to help shape its future. I'm also expecting a child soon, and so I want the future that she inherits to be one of possibility and opportunity.
03:40And I want my new family, like so many others, to be able to rely on the universal child care that Zoran campaigned on. I know from first-hand experience that no one will fight harder for New Yorkers than Zoran. He has the vision and ambition necessary to drive down the cost of living so that people can
04:00families like mine can afford to live in the city we've built. I cannot wait to help our next mayor build a government for and by all New Yorkers. Thank you.
04:20Good morning. My name is Grace Linnea, and I am excited to be with all of you today. I want to congratulate mayor-elect Mamdani on his historic victory and a campaign that captured the imagination of so many and centered the needs of working New Yorkers as a North Star.
04:44I am honored to be part of a transition team and eager to work with you to build an administration that will work tirelessly to ensure working New Yorkers can finally afford to live and raise their families in the city that they love.
04:57As a native of Queens and a daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants who has dedicated my career to fighting for vulnerable New Yorkers, this appointment means a lot to me.
05:07Particularly at a time when our immigrant communities and the people I serve are under attack.
05:13As we stand here today, 1.8 million New York City residents are without benefits to feed themselves and their families because of the inactions from the federal government.
05:23I am confident that mayor-elect will always stand by New Yorkers and fight against any federal encroachment that target the programs our neighbors need to survive.
05:33I look forward to helping him to build a working, working to build an effective government that keeps every New Yorker safe, healthy, housed, and built on the promise of our city and the brilliance of our people.
05:45Now in Spanish.
05:47Before all I want to thank the President, I want to thank the President, Mamdani for her history and for her history of its campaign that captivated many and that gave us priority to the needs of New Yorkers fighting for living in this city.
06:00this city. I am very proud of being part of your transition team and I am ready to work
06:07with you to build an administration that is effortlessly to guarantee that all
06:14New Yorkers can finally live and grow their families in this city we love so much.
06:20In this precise moment, 1.8 million residents of the city of New York care of benefits to
06:28alimenta a sus familias y a sí mismos, debido a la inacción del gobierno federal. Confío que en
06:35el alcalde electo siempre defenderá los neoyorquinos y luchará contra cualquier acción federal que afecte
06:42negativamente a los programas que nuestros vecinos necesitan para sobrevivir. Espero poder ayudar
06:49construir un gobierno eficaz que garantice la seguridad, la salud y la vivienda de todos los
06:56neoyorquinos y que aproveche el potencial de nuestra ciudad y el talento de nuestra gente. Muchas gracias.
07:11Good morning. My name is Mel Hartzog. No one calls me Melanie except my mother when I'm in trouble.
07:18And I'm so excited to be with you all today. I first want to start off by congratulating our Mayor
07:25Elect Mandani on an impressive and amazing campaign and victory last night. In my day job,
07:32I lead the New York Foundling, one of the city's largest and oldest social service organizations.
07:39I previously served across two administrations as the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services,
07:44Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Deputy Commissioner for the Administration for
07:48Children's Services among other roles. There's one thing I've been reminded of in this work,
07:54time and time again. It all comes down to economics. Paying your rent, putting food on the table,
08:00taking care of your kids. That's what New Yorkers care deep down about and that's what the Mayor
08:05Elect has so successfully tapped into. It's my honor to join the Mayor Elect and this incredible group of
08:12women who epitomize public service to make sure that we bring the very best, brightest and most principled
08:18people to deliver for our fellow New Yorkers on this moment of promise. Thank you so much.
08:28Good morning everybody. It's great to see you all. I want to start off by just congratulating our Mayor
08:33Elect Mandani on an incredible victory and a just remarkable campaign this last year. I think what we
08:40saw last night was New Yorkers not just electing a new Mayor but clearly rejecting a politics where
08:47outside corporate power and money too often end up dictating our politics and a clear mandate for
08:54change where New Yorkers can get ahead and where all workers and small businesses can thrive not just
09:01get by. I think what we saw through the campaign was an operation that showed extraordinary discipline,
09:08rigor, talent and I know that Zoran has the vision and courage to make sure that we can actually deliver.
09:16It's such an honor to get to be part of his transition team and I'm so excited to work with the co-chairs to
09:21make sure that we are building an administration that can hit the ground running on day one and
09:26deliver for all New Yorkers. Thank you so much. Good morning everyone. My name is Maria Torres-Springer
09:36and first and foremost I want to congratulate the Mayor Elect on his extraordinary victory last night
09:43and on building a campaign for and by the people. I'm so thrilled to join his transition team of
09:51extraordinary women by the way and help ensure that his administration is ready to govern boldly and
09:59effectively on day one. As the daughter of immigrants who believed in the promise of this country and as
10:06a proud New Yorker who loves and believes deeply in this city, I have so admired the way the Mayor
10:14Elect ran a campaign that reminded us that home is both our greatest challenge and the greatest hope
10:21for our future. I remain deeply proud of the work that I did across three mayoral administrations to
10:29make our city more affordable and more just. This has been my life's work and I'm eager to bring that
10:36experience all of the lessons learned what worked what didn't to help the Mayor Elect achieve early
10:43tangible wins for New Yorkers. Despite the headwinds we face as a city and as a country the Mayor Elect
10:51has truly rekindled something very powerful our shared faith in New York's capacity to do big things
11:00and to dream boldly. Importantly he and I share an undimmed belief in government's capacity to deliver
11:08for working people. An undimmed belief in public service capacity to not just meet not even just exceed
11:18but defy expectations. So thank you Mayor Elect for this opportunity. I look forward to helping you build
11:26an administration that gets to work joyfully and urgently to lower costs, build homes, expand child care
11:35and ensure that every New Yorker can build life of dignity in this city that we all love. Thank you.
11:56I look forward to being the Mayor for every person that calls this city home that includes the
12:23Jewish New Yorkers that voted for our campaign and those that didn't. My responsibility is to all
12:27eight and a half million New Yorkers and we chose this location as a reflection of the borough that I
12:33serve and the fact that we are proud to be known as the world's borough and for far too long that embrace
12:40of so much of what makes New York City special, so much of what makes it the place that we are proud
12:45to call it our home. It has been missing in our leaders in this city and I'm excited to be the
12:52first immigrant to lead New York City in a generation. Disconnect the table.
12:57More frankly to deliver on an agenda of affordability alongside these incredible co-chairs
13:02for New Yorkers across the five miles.
13:05Right here. Josie, right here.
13:09We lost it but it's back.
13:11We're going to add that you're in the transition team.
13:33Another recommendation and we can talk about adding to the transition
13:39I look at these four incredible co-chairs of our transition team and what I see are those
13:54who have had their careers defined by an excellence that we want to characterize the very city
14:01hall that we are looking to build.
14:03These will be the leaders of our transition and also this transition will expand and extend
14:10beyond any one specific set of issue areas.
14:12So the topics of education and public safety continue to be of immense importance.
14:17We continue to prepare for the delivery on those very issues alongside the others that
14:21concern New Yorkers and that will be the work of the next 57 days.
14:25And just to your second question, I am willing to consider anyone to work in my city hall
14:32so long as they are committed to working for my administration and to delivering on an
14:36agenda at a lower cost for New Yorkers in the most expensive city of the United States.
14:40I have two questions.
14:41One, what should New Yorkers know that you are asking from Mayor Adams during the transition
14:47for the next two months?
14:48And second, you are not going to be the mayor for the next two months, but for months now
14:55ICE agents have been abducting immigrants out of 46 Federal Plaza.
14:59What is your message to the ICE agents abducting immigrants?
15:11My message to ICE agents and to everyone across this city is that everyone will be held to the
15:19same standard of the law.
15:20If you violate the law, you must be held accountable.
15:24And there is sadly a sense that is growing across this country that certain people are
15:29allowed to violate that law, whether they be the president or whether they be the agents
15:32themselves.
15:34And what New Yorkers are looking for is an era of consistency, an era of clarity, an era
15:38of conviction.
15:39And that is what we will deliver to them.
15:41And I am looking forward to having conversations with Mayor Adams and his administration about the
15:48work of the transition to ensure that the handover is a seamless one.
15:52And that it is one that benefits the shared work we all have to deliver for the people
15:56who call the city home.
15:57Thank you, Peter.
15:59Congratulations.
16:01Everybody's asking too.
16:03How quickly do you think you can clarify for him that you're not only in the city
16:08to keep Jess's decision, but that she actually will stay in this question?
16:12But wouldn't we be able to close the moment?
16:14And my second question is, last night, we were waiting for a preceptive phone call in
16:20and we were waiting for a preceptive phone call in.
16:25I've made my intention clear to retain Commissioner Tish, and I look forward to having conversations
16:29with her on that very subject.
16:32Last night, I spent time with my wife, with close members of my team.
16:38As we watched the results come in, I spoke briefly with Curtis Sliwa.
16:43And then I headed to address the thousands of New Yorkers that were there, waiting to hear
16:48of what this new era of government will look like.
16:50And that is always my focus.
16:52Not on the candidates of this past election, but rather on the people that are so often left
16:56behind by our politics, and I look forward to serving.
16:58Doing well, how are you, Morgan?
17:05Great.
17:06Let's spray yourself.
17:07I'll just be able to pee together on this next.
17:18Hello, you're drunk?
17:23No matter what you need, thank you so much, because you haven't told us when
17:30The mayor is seemingly unsatisfied with a record of raising rents by more than 12% on
17:45more than 2 million New Yorkers, and has gone so far as to consider appointing someone to
17:49the Rent Guidelines Board who is known for being a star I think on a show called Selling
17:54New York, and in many ways that's the description of what he wants to do over these next few
18:00months.
18:01I continue to believe in the importance of delivering relief for the 8.5 million people
18:06who love this city, who live in this city, but cannot afford to continue to be here.
18:11And last night I spoke of Wesley, an 1199 organizer that I met outside of Elmhurst Hospital less
18:19than a week ago.
18:20And as I asked him how long it took him to get to work, he told me two hours.
18:23I asked him where were you coming from, he told me Pennsylvania.
18:27What for many New Yorkers is now the reality where they have to live elsewhere because
18:30they can't afford to live in the place that they love.
18:33And that has to be our compass in guiding the work that we do to ensure that we can make
18:39this a city that is livable and make this a city that finally turns the page on an era
18:44of big money and small ideas.
18:57I am looking forward to having every member of my coalition being a part of our transition.
19:02The transition will be guided by the work that we need to do.
19:06And the coalition that brought me to this point has done an immense amount of work and has
19:09also been leading in the fight for dignity for working class New Yorkers.
19:18So, first I just have to say I've spent many days in my youth watching the transfer window
19:30close final hours on Sky News, so it's a pleasure to have you here.
19:34Yeah, I'm an Arsenal fan.
19:37I have to be honest, when you said you were from Sky News I just got very excited.
19:40Could you repeat the question one more time?
19:57I think the lesson for the president is that it's not enough to diagnose the crisis in working
20:02class Americans' lives, you have to deliver on addressing that crisis.
20:06This is the president who ran a campaign on the promise of cheaper groceries and now as
20:10as was said by one of our co-chairs has gone so far as to cut SNAP benefits for close
20:15to two million New Yorkers.
20:17Someone who is literally making it harder to afford those same groceries whose price
20:20he was decrying not that long ago.
20:22And what scares Republicans across the country is the fact that we will actually deliver on
20:29this agenda.
20:30And the contrast is something that they cannot bear to witness.
20:33And I try to keep my focus similar to that cover on the New Yorker where the world
20:38ends in New Jersey and thinking about what this means for our city instead of for our nation.
20:45And I will tell you that for our city, what left me with such great hope last night were
20:50the stories from so many New Yorkers who had never voted before, who had lost hope in politics
20:57years ago.
20:58And to stand here before you having received over a million votes in an election that saw
21:03turn out the likes of which we haven't seen since 1969.
21:06It shows that politics once again is offering more than just a settling for the crumbs that
21:13are not able to meet the needs of so many families across the city.
21:17We are finally offering a vision that can meet the scale of the crisis in working class New
21:21city.
21:22And I will see Rutgers last.
21:24Thank you very much.
21:25Please.
21:30Hi.
21:51that in and after being able to do the results of our disability to make sure they're a disability person, right?
22:00Saying that ABLJ has launched what they're calling a monthly track.
22:06They should track their graduation. And I guess that's a different piece of that.
22:11So, same question.
22:13I look forward, I'll first answer your first question and I'll go to your second.
22:28I look forward to meeting with Jamie Dimon and meeting with anyone who is concerned about the future of our city
22:34and is invested in the vitality of that same city.
22:37And these are not very different from the conversations I had over the course of this campaign with many business leaders
22:43who, while we may have disagreements on fiscal policy, we also found many areas of agreement as to what the city actually needed.
22:49And I think it is critically important that we start to embody a style of leadership
22:54that does not demand agreement across every single issue in order to even have a conversation.
23:00We need to be able to deliver for New Yorkers and that means to meet New Yorkers, even those with whom we have any disagreements.
23:07So, I look forward to having those kinds of meetings, be it with Jamie Dimon or be it with other business leaders
23:11and continuing to show that our affordability agenda is an agenda that would also benefit businesses across the city.
23:18Because what I've heard from many of those same business leaders is that the inability for city government and state government
23:24to provide universal childcare has led to businesses sometimes having to provide stipends to their own employees
23:31given the expense of that childcare.
23:33It makes sense because childcare in this city costs an average of $22,500 a year, which is a burden that many families cannot bear.
23:41And I also look forward to streamlining the regulations within city government.
23:46I am someone who believes deeply in the public sector, believes deeply in public regulation.
23:50And I also believe if I cannot give you an answer as to why regulation exists, then it likely doesn't have a good reason to exist any longer.
23:56And that extends to when a restaurant owner told me of the $25 a year he has to pay the city for the right to sell a frozen dessert.
24:03And it also extends to the way in which we find and feed small businesses across the city, which is why we've committed to cutting that in half.
24:10And I have not spoken to Jonathan Greenblatt. I take the issue of anti-Semitism incredibly seriously.
24:18And last night in my speech, I spoke about how my city hall will stand steadfast with Jewish New Yorkers in fighting the scourge of anti-Semitism across the city
24:29and making that clear in the actions that we deliver on from January 1st.
24:32And I look forward to working with Jewish leaders across this city, whether they be elected officials, whether they be rabbis, whether they be community leaders,
24:39to deliver on the promise of not just protecting Jewish New Yorkers, but celebrating and cherishing them in this same city.
24:51I think that anyone is free to catalogue the actions of our administration.
24:56I have some doubts in Jonathan's ability to do so honestly, given that he previously said I had not visited any synagogues, only to have to correct himself.
25:04Yes, yes, yes, it's a two for one day.
25:11Oh yeah, a little more interesting. So, on President Trump and on delivering real tangible results as you alluded to last night with your new era,
25:18as Murray's first figure just said, how do you balance or have you given thoughts on balancing combating President Trump
25:24from not getting lost in that fight where you are not delivering the campaign?
25:28It's very funny, everyone is asking two very different questions, trying to strike the right tone between all of them.
25:55New Yorkers are facing twin crises in this moment, an authoritarian administration and an affordability crisis.
26:03And it'll be my job to deliver on both. It'll be my job to stand up for the city and also to ensure that we do not look at Washington, D.C.
26:11as if it is the reason for all of the problems right here in New York City.
26:14Many of the issues we are speaking about, they predate President Trump.
26:19They are issues that for too long we have turned a blind eye to or we have sought to rationalize or normalize.
26:24And what I'm so excited by in looking at these incredible women who will be leading our transition is a track record of being able to handle multiple crises at the same time.
26:35Crises which so often for others might be the only focus for so many of the people on this stage, they were one of many.
26:42And these are the crises of cost, these are the crises of conviction, these are the crises that have come to describe much of our politics.
26:48And I find immense confidence in the fact that we are already building a team that has shown its ability to deliver and that will continue to show that over the next 57 days and beyond.
27:00I cannot tell you that I had many quiet moments between last night and this morning.
27:07But some things that I have been left with, whether it was in sitting with my wife or with close members of my team without whom none of this would have been possible, is the sense of hope that New Yorkers have.
27:24When I left the venue yesterday evening, there were hundreds of New Yorkers waiting outside.
27:34And so many of them were young New Yorkers. So many of them, it may have been their first vote they were ever eligible to cast.
27:40And in their eyes and in their shouts and in their screams, I heard the potential for what our politics could be.
27:48And it's a potential for New Yorkers to not only be able to see themselves in those that lead them, but more importantly to see their struggles.
27:56And just before this, I heard from an immigrant rights advocate who said that the moment that made her whole in the speech that I shared was when I spoke about the city as being one that was built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and now that will be led by an immigrant.
28:13I think for too long, many New Yorkers have been told that they're only places in the shadows.
28:19And it's incredibly exciting to stand here alongside these leaders to embrace the light that the future will hold for all of us in this city.
28:28Thank you very much.
28:31Gracias.
28:32One of the things that we're seeing is something the Spanish went to do in the last few weeks after the president of the President Trump.
28:48The White House hasn't reached out to congratulate me. I continue to be interested in having a conversation with President Trump on the ways in which we can work together to serve New Yorkers.
29:17Whether that be delivering on his campaign promises around cost of living or the many issues that New Yorkers have been sharing with me about the drastic impacts that the legislation that President Trump has ushered through Washington will mean for them and their lives.
29:32Too often we understand these impacts solely at an individual level. But if we just speak a little bit more about SNAP benefits, these are not just affecting the close to 2 million New Yorkers who are on SNAP.
29:43These also affect the grocery stores across our city. There were a number of mom and pop owned grocery stores that spoke to me about the fact that in the Bronx SNAP revenues make up more than a quarter of all of their revenue.
29:53And this has the impact of decimating their ability to keep their doors open. And so I look forward to having those conversations and to making clear that if there is ever anything to be spoken about that could benefit the people of the city, I am ready and willing to speak to anyone about it.
30:08But if it is a conversation to come at the expense of those people, then I will fight that idea tooth and nail because my job is to serve this city.
30:15My job is to serve this city.
30:16My job is to serve this city.
30:22When I speak about Trump-proofing this city, I speak about protecting those with the least
30:49from the consequences of a man with the most power in this country.
30:53It is in part a reference to the need to ensure that any fight for additional revenue is one that
30:59also looks to try and protect those same New Yorkers from these kinds of cuts to the greatest
31:06extent that we can. And it's also a commitment to ensure that so many of the storied parts of
31:13city government return back to the moments where they were on the front lines of fighting for
31:17dignity and civil rights. And I think specifically of our city's law department. This is a law
31:21department that when you think of the seminal civil rights cases of this country, they were there.
31:26And yet today it has 200 fewer lawyers than it did before COVID. This is an example of a lack of
31:32interest from an administration in ensuring that we are investing in the tools that have been proven
31:37to protect those same New Yorkers. And I will not mince my words when it comes to President Trump.
31:42I will continue to describe his actions as they are. And I will also always do so by leave while
31:49leaving a door open to have that conversation because it cannot be understood as if it is an
31:55argument between two individuals. I am looking to leave this entire city and everything that I do
32:00must be to the benefit of this city and I look forward to delivering for that same city.
32:07So after you went last night, a lot of critics went to our comment section on the social media news
32:13coming on and saying talk to them down in September in six months. See how bad it's going to get.
32:19Do you have any comments on how those folks are reacting and how are you doing?
32:23Well first I'd say we've come a long way since that conversation in Astoria Park and it's lovely to see
32:29you here. You know I think there were many who said similar things when we launched our campaign on
32:34October 23rd. Talk to the campaign in six months. Talk to the campaign in a year. See where they are.
32:39And what we've shown is that the hunger, the dedication, the commitment to excellence and
32:44delivering in the ways in which we have been told are impossible. This is what will typify our efforts.
32:50It has thus far. This is what will describe them moving forward. And the passion,
32:56as Maria had said, of an undimmed potential for government to meet the needs of working people
33:04across this city, that is something that we fully intend to deliver on. These were not words that
33:10were shared as a means by which to inspire people for the purpose of an election. These were commitments
33:16that were made that we intend to deliver on to ensure that New Yorkers can live in the city they call home.
33:20I think the first thing I did was drink some water.
33:50And it took it took a moment for it to settle in.
33:57And when it did the, you know, oftentimes this job is described in with the language of burden,
34:08responsibility, pressure. And those things are true. But what is lost is opportunity. And that is really
34:18what I felt in that moment when this race was called the opportunity we have to deliver for people
34:23who have come to expect so little from the politics of their city. And that is an opportunity that
34:30is at the heart of what motivates me each and every day. And I look forward to fulfilling the trust that
34:38was put in me by the more than 1 million New Yorkers who voted for our campaign and also by New Yorkers
34:43who've had concerns or skepticism. I don't begrudge them because they were subject to tens of millions
34:48of dollars in attack ads that told them the thing that should keep them up at night was me when in fact
34:53what I've heard from New Yorkers that the thing that keeps them up at night is the cost of rent,
34:57of groceries, of childcare. And so I look forward to earning their trust as well because my vision of
35:04success is not that those who are skeptical leave this city. It's that those who are skeptical stay
35:09here in this city and that we build a city that has room for even more to join us because this is
35:13a city that has to grow. This is a city that has to thrive. And the way that we will do so is by
35:18bringing an excellence back into City Hall where it becomes the expectation, not the exception.
35:28Oh, incredible.
35:41My first day in City Hall will look like my last day. It will be focused on the cost of living crisis.
35:46It will be focused on delivering for the New Yorkers who have been priced out of this city.
35:51One in four New Yorkers currently living in poverty across the five boroughs. And what excites me
35:57so much about being on the stage alongside these incredible leaders is that this is not a job that
36:02can be done alone. This is not a job that can be done by one person with one vision. It is a job that
36:08must be done by a team, a team that is united in purpose in fulfilling the agenda that we ran on,
36:13an agenda of affordability. And for too long, we have heard from politicians who have told us
36:22what they can't do. And in reality, what they mean to say is what they won't do. And I'm excited to
36:27prove that making people's lives better is not simply an ideal. It is something that we can fulfill
36:33in the day-to-day work of our administration. Thank you very much, I think the governor has set a very
36:56good example for what it can look like to both keep a door open to speak with anyone about anything
37:03that could serve the interests of the people of this state, while also refusing to sacrifice those
37:07same people for the purpose of maintaining a relationship. And that is exactly the approach
37:12that I will take is when President Trump wants to do something that will benefit this city, I will be
37:16there to say as much. But if he is looking to persecute or prosecute or punish the people of this city
37:23by virtue of who they are or where they live or where they came from, then I will fight him on that.
37:28I think too often we have had a style of leadership that seeks to put oneself before the people that
37:33you're looking to serve, and my city hall will do the opposite.
37:49You know, this is a group that exemplifies the excellence I've long spoken about. It is an
38:14excellence that New Yorkers have seen across multiple mayoral administrations. It is an
38:18excellence that they have seen at the federal level. And it's an excellence that has been
38:23displayed amidst a conviction of what government can and should and must do for New Yorkers.
38:29And I'm excited by the prospect of them leading this transition to deliver for those same New Yorkers.
38:37And I also am clear with the more than 100,000 volunteers who brought me to this point, with the more
38:45than a million New Yorkers who voted for our campaign, that the work does not end with an
38:49election. In fact, it continues until we deliver this agenda. And that delivery will be something that
38:55we do over weeks and months and years. And it'll be something that we will take immensely seriously,
39:01because it is a delivery that will fulfill the hope that so many have put in us.
39:04Can we do the first one? I'll answer. Let me go the second one.
39:17Well, thank you for the questions, transition2025.com. And, you know, there were a few months ago where I
39:29told supporters across the city to stop donating. And today, I am asking them to start once again.
39:37And I am asking them to do so because of the fact that a transition that can meet the moment of
39:42preparing for January 1st is one that will require staff, it will require research, it will require
39:48infrastructure. And those are things that we will have to provide. And I'm excited for the fact that
39:53it will be funded by the very people who brought us to this point, the working people who have been
39:58left behind by the politics of the city.
40:13I did get a text from my super late this night.
40:19Look, I have been told time and time again, and I've embraced it to not measure the drapes.
40:23And here I am the day after being asked to use a ruler. And I will tell you that my focus right
40:29now is on the transition team. I will speak with my wife. I will think about this further. But when
40:34I have something to share, it will be done so publicly. Andrew Cuomo did it.
40:40Okay, two questions again. The first one, has the mayor or anyone invited you to City Hall,
40:49do you have plans to go to City Hall to meet with you in the coming days?
40:53The mayor has not invited me as yet to go to City Hall, but I look forward to having those
40:56conversations about the transition. Okay. But for the last four years, we've heard a lot about
41:00Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn. They've got the leaders in the House and Senate, the mayor, all sorts of power.
41:06Is Queens having its moment? I mean, you spoke about this a little bit, saying here, like, is this borough on top now?
41:14You know, I don't see it as a question of which borough is on top. I am looking to serve every
41:21single one of the five boroughs. And in each of these boroughs, I find so much of the inspiration
41:27of the work that we have to do in City Hall. And I'm also proud to represent Queens in the state
41:32legislature. I'm proud to be a resident and a assembly member for Astoria and for Long Island City. And I'm
41:40proud that we are standing here today in the world's borough to embrace what gives so many so
41:48much meaning as to what it means to be a New Yorker here in this moment today. This guy's trying to get
41:54me to go against other boroughs. Unbelievable. Where's the suit?
42:02Good to see you.
42:16Well, I appreciated Bill Ackman's tweet and the sentiment of it. And I will continue to have
42:28conversations with anyone who is committed to the welfare of this city, the vitality of this city.
42:34And those are the conversations I will have over the next 57 days and beyond.
42:37I can tell you what it means in this city. It means that the idea of a politics built around
42:52the delivery of dignity to each and every person who calls the city home, that that politics is alive
42:58and well. And for too long, we have spent our time debating who deserves that dignity as opposed to
43:04delivering it to each and every person who calls the city home.
43:08What specifically, if we want to continue to be a very balanced
43:13restoration of the progress of the United States, can we get your call for the speakers?
43:18I didn't hear the second one. Can we get your call for the speakers?
43:23You know, even amidst my many critiques that I have of the Adams administration,
43:27we have to have a sober analysis of the work that is done in any single administration.
43:31And I think that city of yes is something that is a significant and good step forward.
43:36I think that trash containerization is another example of something that we should continue to
43:40pursue. And these are examples to me of some of the issues which have
43:48been long recognized by New Yorkers as ones that need to be contended with by government and ones that
43:53have simply been ignored. And I look forward to continuing on those issues and then correcting the
43:57course in many and other areas of city government. And I look forward to working with the council and
44:04with the next speaker on delivering on an agenda of affordability for each and every person that calls
44:08the city home. Thank you guys so much.
Recommended
7:39
|
Up next
Be the first to comment