Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–NY) delivered a rousing message of progressive renewal on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, as she addressed massive crowds gathered outside New York City Hall for the public inauguration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, framing the moment as a decisive break from entrenched politics and inequality.
“New York, we have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few,” Ocasio-Cortez told supporters, drawing cheers from a crowd that stretched several blocks. She added that rather than “seek refuge in the past,” the city had chosen “to turn towards making a new future for all of us.”
The congresswoman’s remarks echoed the tone of the day’s celebrations, which were anything but traditional.
Sprawling crowds, a seven-block-long street party, and chants of “tax the rich” marked Mamdani’s first full day in office, signaling the grassroots energy that powered his mayoral campaign and now underpins his administration.
A Nontraditional Inauguration
Political inaugurations in New York are typically formal, tightly choreographed affairs. Mamdani, however, flipped convention much as he did on the campaign trail.
Just after midnight, as the Times Square ball dropped to usher in 2026, Mamdani quietly took the oath of office in a small ceremony at the long-closed New York City Hall subway station, a historic transit hub unused since 1945. The oath was administered by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, with Mamdani standing beside his wife, Rama Duwaji.
In a moment rich with symbolism, Mamdani was sworn in using a historic Quran borrowed from the New York Public Library, alongside a second Quran that once belonged to his grandfather—underscoring both his family heritage and the city’s multicultural identity.
Progressive Signals for a New Administration
Thursday’s public inauguration outside City Hall transformed that quiet midnight ceremony into a mass political rally, blending celebration with clear ideological signals.
Ocasio-Cortez’s appearance highlighted the alignment between Mamdani’s mayoralty and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, particularly on issues of economic inequality, taxation, and inclusive governance.
For supporters, the inauguration marked more than a change in leadership; it represented a broader statement about the direction of the nation’s largest city at a time of widening wealth gaps and political polarization.
As chants echoed through lower Manhattan and confetti mingled with protest placards, the message from the stage was unmistakable: New York City, under Mamdani, intends to govern boldly—and with the backing of a movement that sees this moment as the start of something larger.
