The newly inaugurated mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, promised during his first address to residents on New Year’s Day that he would stick to his “democratic socialist” ideals as he leads the country’s largest city.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old former state representative and rapper, vowed in his inaugural speech in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon to embrace big government and follow through on his promises to roll out free programs to the city’s 8.5 million residents.
“I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” Mamdani said outside City Hall.
Mamdani shared the stage with fellow self-identifying democratic socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and called for “safety, affordability, abundance,” which have been pillars of the Democratic Party’s push for more housing.
To ensure that these tenets affect New Yorkers, Mamdani will likely have to rely on and expand the city’s government, further growing it, an idea that Republicans oppose.
“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try,” Mamdani told the crowd. “To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.”
Mamdani was elected in November following an expansive campaign that was filled with promises appealing to lower- and some middle-class residents.
Those campaign promises included freezing rent increases, free citywide buses, universal no-cost child care, and raising the minimum wage to $30 by 2030.
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Mandani said he will fund those changes by increasing the taxes that the wealthiest New Yorkers and businesses pay the city.
The new mayor himself does not have the legal authority to raise taxes. Such a move would have to be carried out by lawmakers, adding more pressure on his administration to get things moving behind the scenes.