Mamdani Mayoral Inauguration Day, as Seen from the Nosebleeds

The Bitter Cold didn't Nip the Warmth of Our New Mayor on his Big Day

January 1, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

I'll be the first to admit that the photos shown herein, aren't likely to win any awards. But I never take photographs or write reports to win awards. I take and write them to share with our readers what's going on in our fair city, as seen by one of their own - a fellow member of the plebeian citizenry of NYC. And I also report on things, with an eye toward posterity.

In the photo at right, Zohran Mamdani and Rama Duwaji are shown walking out of City Hall and onto the steps of the political public stage on January 1, 2026. Mamdani was inaugurated privately, earlier in the day, by NYS Attorney General Letitia James. And he would be inaugurated again, cermoniously, by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, about an hour after this photo was taken.

As I was freezing my buns off in the bitter cold outside of City Hall, waiting for Mamdani to appear and give his speech, my thoughts matched the chilly bitterness of the season. The biting 20 mph+ wind gusts & the well below freezing temperatures, didn't thaw out my anger, as some long-winded speakers seemed to ignore the fact that this was Zohran's day - not theirs. And that those of us in attendance, had been waiting outside on the open streets of south Manhattan, with the biting winds coming in from the harbor, for hours.

Eventually my camera succumbed to the cold, as my battery, having been fully charged earlier this morning died. Thankfully, it was after I got a couple of photos of our new Mayor and his wife. I interpreted the battery dying, as god's invisible message, giving me permission to go home, before I froze to death.

In the photo above or at right you can see a number of well known, former and current, NYC and NYS government officials. Starting from the first row in the lower left corner, wearing a green coat is Governor Kathy Hochul, to her right is NYS Attorney General Letitia James, fashionably dressed in a camel-colored coat wearing a beret, to her right is U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez in a dark coat and to her right are U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and his wife. Above and just right of Sanders is former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is standing to the right of former Mayor Adams [his head is buried underneath a newsie cap] and his friend, Tracey Collins. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, who did not endorse Mamdani, is on Adams' left.

I shambled to the subway station at City Hall, passing through the garrison of NYPD officers who were also enduring the piercing winds, and numbing and bone chilling cold. They seemed better dressed than I for the weather, as I'd not attended such a frigid, hours-long, outdoor event, since the January 5, 1985 NFL Playoff game between the NY Giants and Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Today, at City Hall in NYC, it was 27 degrees, with 14 - 16 mph wind gusts, and a wind chill temperature that ranged from 8 - 18 degrees. As I had no cap, and nothing to break the wind from coming through my jacket and jersey, my arms and legs started shivering continuously, before I decided to go home.

On the subway my fingers and toes began to thaw. At first there was some pain as the blood started circulating through them, bringing back the warmth they had recently lost. The same thawing began to come over me mentally, as I pondered my own life on the ride home, as I thought about our new Mayor.

Zohran Mamdani's Inauguration Speech January 1, 2026 in Fotos

One of the things that struck me is that as Zohran is an immigrant, who was born on the other side of the world in Uganda, in Africa; he doesn't just see himself in the context of us 8.5 million New Yorkers who live here, nor does he limit his view of us collectively to the 342 million Americans we are, but rather sees us as a plantery whole of 8.3 billion Earthlings, of which NYC represents 1/10th of 1% of the planet population.

What Mamdani had to say and some context for it follows.

• CLICK here to view the rest of our report on the Inauguration of Zohan Mamdani at City Hall in NYC on January 1, 2026 including photos.

Mamdani Mayoral Inauguration Day, as Seen from the Nosebleeds

The Bitter Cold didn't Nip the Warmth of Our New Mayor on his Big Day

January 1, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

I didn't take notes as I oftentimes do during speeches, so this is more of a general recollection of some of the things that the new mayor said that stuck.

The photo above or at right shows City Hall on a very frigid January 1, 2026 during the Inauguration of Zohran Kwame Mamdani as the 111th or 112th Mayor of New York City.

The Mamdani Commitment to a Better World Began Decades Ago

As just mentioned, our new mayor has an expansive view of the world, in that he believes all of our lives are connected. He's not alone in that regard, and made mention of some of famous New Yorkers who governed in New York before him, who also took this expansive view of governing and of the world; including former NYS Governor, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt [https://inequality.stanford.edu/publications/quote/eleanor-roosevelt], and former mayors Fiorello LaGuardia [1930's], Dinkins [1990's] and de Blasio [2010's].

Mamdani also thanked his parents for all that they've done for him. I've come across some things about both of his parents since the election, that strengthen the notion that Zohran Mamdani is sincere in his aspirations for the general welfare of all of us. Most notable is that his father, Mahmood, got involved in marching for civil liberties in this country, including joining marchers in a bus ride down to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. Mahmood Mamdani [his father] had arrived here, just two years prior to that, as part of a program nicknamed 'The Kennedy Airlift'. The program was designed to provide select students with access to a North American college education. That program obviously changed Mamdani's father's life, and by extension Zohran's life, and as of this year, by extension, the lives of all of us living and working here in New York. So that may be why the new mayor is a believer that we're all connected.

Mamdani Demonstrates a Uniting & Forgiving Nature

The second is that the new Mayor seems to be a UNITER - NOT A DIVIDER. Chuck Schumer who didn't endorse him was there, so he was obviously invited. Mamdani remembered aloud that former Mayor Adams had said that he would choose Mamdani, out of the general election candidates [vs Cuomo or Sliwa], with whom he would choose to be stuck with in an elevator [odd question about an unlikely scenario]. Mamdani could easily have said any number of other things about his predecessor that would have been far less kind, but he chose not to. And Mamdani told the crowd that he would fight just as hard for most of the people who didn't vote for him, as for those who did. I say 'most of' because Mamdani has made it clear that - at least as far as taxation is concerned - he won't be fighting for the billionaires.

In the photo above or at right is Jumaane Williams shortly before he was sworn in for a second time as NYC Public Advocate.

Zohran Reiterates Key Points of his Campaign Agenda

The new mayor reiterated the key points of his campaign agenda, such as free buses, free early childcare, affordable housing, affordable food and the like. Bernie Sanders, who spoke before him, argued that these things are not a radical agenda, but rather good governance by distributing wealth, rather than concentrating so much of it, in so few hands. I think it was Bernie who said that these billionaires wouldn't be billionaires if we stopped working for them and stopped buying from them. And that we must not let them divide us with distractive issues, while they grab all the wealth.

TBD LINK TO REPORT SHOWING HOW MUCH AMERICANS HAVE LOST TO THE UPPER CRUST SINCE REAGAN.

Mamdani Shows Promise Early On - Deftly Managing the Transition

It's worth noting that Zohran Mamdani has shown a promising level of intelligence, political skill and wisdom for a man his age. Convincing Jessica Tisch to stay on at the NYPD, finding common ground with Donald Trump, and Mamdani's wise, but regrettable, acceptance of the resignation of Catherine Almonte Da Costa.

The ADL dug up some old Twitter posts from 2011 & 2012 when Da Costa was 19 years old, that were anti-semitic. Today Catherine Almonte Da Costa is married to a Jewish man, and she is the mother of Jewish kids. The Anti Defamation League [aka ADL] was very hostile to the Mamdani candidacy, and is expected to continue to be quite hostile to the Mamdani mayoralty. It's worth noting that the ADL, under Jonathan Greenblatt, appears to be headed on a right wing trajectory, strongly supportive of Netanyahu and by appeasing Donald Trump.

In the photo above or at right is Public Advocate Jumaane Williams looking back at former NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for a Congressional seat out of Brooklyn. Lander and Mamdani cross endorsed each other, which pundits believe helped pave the way to a progressive Democrat win in the primary.

Mamdani Asks Much of Himself, His Staff & All of Us

And lastly, the new mayor told us that he wasn't going to dampen the high expectations he had created, as some political operatives had suggested he do. But rather he planned to maintain or even raise them, but he also told us that he is going to need the help of all of us, if he is to succeed with his ambitious agenda. He said, now that we won the campaign, we can't pack it up and go home, because it's not over. It's just begun.

While it was terribly cold and blustery outside, one could feel the warmth burning inside the hearts of those who attended the Mamdani Inauguration. Let's hope, for the sake of all of us, that the fires stay lit, because it remains cold outside and there is much work to do.

The photo above or at right shows the Inauguration Ceremony at City Hall on January 1, 2026 at around 2.45 pm, almost two hours after the official start. If you compare this photo to the one above, you 'll notice that a number of seats have been vacated, likely because of the wind and cold, below freezing temperatures.