00:00New York City is preparing for a historic and highly symbolic moment on January 1st.
00:24Zoran Mamdani, the mayor-elect, will take the oath of office in two separate ceremonies,
00:33and both are designed to send a message about the kind of leadership he represents.
00:42At midnight, New York Attorney General Letitia James will swear Mamdani in during a small,
00:48private ceremony with just his family present.
00:52James, a well-known Democrat and a prominent critic of former President Donald Trump, has
00:59been one of the most powerful figures in New York politics.
01:03Her role emphasizes continuity, respect for institutions, and the formal transfer of power.
01:09I will not capitulate! I will not give in! I will not give up!
01:16But the public ceremony later that day will tarry an entirely different symbolism.
01:23That oath will be administered by Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the most recognizable progressive figures in American politics and a political inspiration to Mamdani himself.
01:35Sanders is a Brooklyn native, and like Mamdani, he identifies as a democratic socialist.
01:44He endorsed Mamdani early and even campaigned with him ahead of the November 4th election.
01:50The two were most recently seen marching alongside Starbucks workers in Brooklyn, supporting their
01:55push for higher wages and better working conditions.
02:00So, Sanders, appearing on the steps of City Hall to swear Mamdani in, signals something very deliberate.
02:08This is a mayor joining office with the blessing and the backing of the progressive movement.
02:14The public ceremony will take place on the afternoon of January 1st at City Hall Plaza, with at least 4,000 invited guests.
02:29And when the ceremony ends, the city won't just head home.
02:33Instead, there will be a massive public block party stretching across seven blocks of Broadway, expected to draw tens of thousands of New Yorkers.
02:43Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you all so much.
02:48Think of it as less of a political ceremony and more of a city-wide celebration.
02:55This fits into a long-standing New York tradition.
02:58Farmer mayors, including Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg, have held outdoor inaugurations,
03:05sometimes braving freezing temperatures, sometimes in iconic locations like Times Square.
03:12Even Eric Adams was sworn in just after the Times Square ball dropped in 2021.
03:18But what's new here is the pairing of progressive enthusiasm with formal institutional power.
03:26In his statement, Bernie Sanders called Mamdani part of a new generation of progressive leadership and described his election as a victory for the working-class movement.
03:36For Mamdani, this is not just about becoming mayor.
03:41It's about defining what his administration stands for, before day one even begins.
03:47Hey!
03:49Thank you, thank you, thank you.
03:51He has already said that he and his wife will move into Gracie Mansion, the historic East River residence reserved for the city's top executive.
04:00And at 34 years old, Mamdani will arrive in office with both grassroots activist credibility and, now, the legitimacy of formal political leadership.
04:11So, two ceremonies, one, intimate, official, rooted in tradition, led by the attorney general.
04:20The other, public, symbolic, led by one of the most recognizable progressive voices in the country.
04:28Together, they mark the beginning of a mayoralty that promises to blend establishment governance with progressive ideals.
04:36And on January 1st, all eyes will be on New York City to see how Zoran Mamdani's leadership begins.
04:45Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
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