"I Will Govern as a Democratic Socialist"

"How cold was it in City Hall Park on the morning that New York's " 111th or 112th mayor " was inaugurated? So cold that I had to keep returning my pen to my pocket to keep the ink from freezing. So cold that Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, waiting on the dais for the proceedings to start, was visibly shivering-though he, like Comptroller Mark Levine and the mayor-elect (and former mayor Bill de Blasio, also on the podium), remained bare-headed throughout."

"By the time Bernie Wagenblast -better known, as she noted, as the voice urging commuters to "stand back from the platform edge"-introduced Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez to begin the program, many of the tens of thousands gathered for what was billed as "a free, public block party" in the streets south of City Hall plaza, and who had been waiting in the cold for over three hours, were hopping from foot to foot just to keep circulation going. Yet only a handful departed early."

"And once New York Attorney General Letitia James, herself a target of President Donald Trump's vindictive Justice Department, and who had officially sworn in Zohran Mamdani at the stroke of midnight (and was sensibly keeping warm in a camel coat and matching beret), issued the oath of office to Levine the themes of the day-and the new administration-began to emerge."

City Hall Park was bitterly cold during the inauguration, forcing attendees to keep warm and endure long waits. Tens of thousands gathered for a free public block party south of City Hall plaza, many standing in the cold for over three hours with few leaving early. Prominent figures on the dais included Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Comptroller Mark Levine, the mayor-elect, former mayor Bill de Blasio, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Attorney General Letitia James. Themes included celebrating New York's diversity and immigrant heritage, multiple religious swearing-in texts, and concern that prosperity is concentrated at the top while working families struggle.

Read at The Nation