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AMY GOODMAN: Yes, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has made history as New York’s first Muslim, first South Asian, first African-born mayor, and, at the age of 34, the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century. During the public New Year’s Day ceremony on the steps of City Hall, he was introduced by Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: New York, we have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few. And when the entrenched ways would rather have us dig in our feet and seek refuge in the past, we have chosen instead to turn towards making a new future for all of us.
In Zohran Mamdani, we have chosen a mayor who is relentlessly dedicated to making life not just possible, but aspirational for working people. New York City has chosen the ambitious pursuit of universal child care, affordable rent and housing, and clean and dignified public transit for all. And we have chosen that over the distractions of bigotry and the barbarism of extreme income inequality. We have chosen this path because we know that it’s the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, and that if we can make it here, we can make it anywhere.
New York City, this is an inauguration for all of us, because choosing this mayor and this vision is an ambitious pursuit. It calls on all of us to return to public life en masse. Now is the time for us to turn towards our neighbors, stand with them and return to community life. A city for all will require all of us to fill our streets, our schools, our houses of faith, our PTAs and our block associations as we support this mayor in making an affordable city a reality for all of us.
Zohran Mamdani be the first Muslim mayor of our great city. He will be our first immigrant mayor in over a century. And he will be the youngest mayor of New York City in generations. But most importantly, Zohran will be a mayor for all of us.
With that, let us extend our deepest well-wishes and support to Zohran, his wife Rama and his family, as well as those of our public advocate, Jumaane Williams, and comptroller, Mark Levine. We send you, your spouses and families and all your loved ones all the support in the world as you embark on this great pursuit of a better city and future for all. ¡Felicidades!
AMY GOODMAN: That was Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez welcoming people to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration. The ceremony also included National Book Award finalist, inaugural poet Cornelius Eady, who recited his original poem “Proof.”
CORNELIUS EADY: The poem is called “Proof.”
Proof
You have to imagine it.