Zoh’s gonna feel the Bern.
Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor by his socialist idol Bernie Sanders during a rollicking New Year’s Day public ceremony in Lower Manhattan, the incoming Hizzoner announced Monday.
The planned Inauguration Day “block party” near City Hall will be the second time Sanders — a Brooklyn native and Vermont senator — ushers a fellow progressive into the “second toughest job in America.”
Loftily titled “Inauguration of a New Era,” the fete promises to usher in Mamdani’s dreamy socialist vision for the Big Apple, including promises to deliver free buses, no-cost childcare, a rent freeze and city-owned grocery stores — in part by hiking taxes on the rich.
Mamdani’s mantra of “affordability” helped sweep him to electoral victory and, so far, political heights largely untouched even by his fellow socialist travelers Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
It’s not clear how much the blow-out bash will cost, but the mayoral transition will be covering the bill, The Post previously reported.
Groundhog killer-turned-horndog Bill de Blasio in 2018 was similarly sworn into office by Sanders for an ultimately disappointing second term for progressives and conservatives alike.
Sanders told The New York Times Monday that he’ll deliver remarks at next week’s celebration, likely focusing on the “retreat of democracy.”
“The enormous, enormously difficult task that is on Zohran’s shoulders is to show that government can deliver for working families and not just for the wealthiest people,” Sanders told the Gray Lady.
The socialist shindig with Sanders will unfold hours after Mamdani technically becomes mayor – with help from another liberal darling.
State Attorney General Letitia James will officially swear Mamdani in as mayor in a private event with his family at the stroke of midnight Jan. 1, the City Hall transition team said.
De Blasio similarly held a short ceremony around midnight administered by then-State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, before the public oath-taking event.
“It is an honor to be sworn in by two leaders I have admired for years: Attorney General Tish James and Senator Bernie Sanders,” Mamdani said in a statement.
The lefty lovefest ushering in Mamdani’s historic incoming administration isn’t the only way that the democratic socialist appears to be taking cues from de Blasio’s tenure.
Mamdani has tapped a plethora of former de Blasio administration aides, including veteran city and state government official Dean Fuleihan, who will serve as his right-hand in the title of first deputy mayor.
The incoming mayor’s transition team is also stacked with de Blasio alums, such as its executive director Elana Leopold, former ThriveNYC leader Susan Herman and more.
De Blasio enthusiastically endorsed Mamdani during the mayoral campaign, but has increasingly been iced out as the former mayor bragged about wielding influence in the new administration – and his tangled love life made headlines, sources have said.
The Queens-based Mamdani has invited “all New Yorkers” to attend his inaugural blowout bash next week, where they can watch Sanders administer the ceremonial oath of office.
“The celebration is designed to ensure that all New Yorkers are able to take part in ushering in a new era for New York City,” a press release announcing the event said.
Mamdani’s team said it will accommodate the massive crowd of New Yorkers by setting up designated viewing areas for “tens of thousands” to gather.
The transition has expected between 40,000 and 50,000 attendees and will shut down Broadway south of Canal Street for the public party, The Post first reported Friday.
“We wanted to ensure that as we celebrate the beginning of our administration, it was a celebration that as not simply for the typical people who would be invited to an inauguration – but in fact for everyone,” Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference Monday.
The New Year’s Day shindig is a change from how Mamdani’s recent predecessors heralded in their mayoralties.
Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams in 2022 famously opted to take his oath of office in Times Square, moments after the ball drop in the heart of the Big Apple’s iconic New Year’s Eve festivities.
He had originally planned to hold a ceremony in Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre, but those hopes were dashed by the COVID pandemic.
De Blasio and his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, each held their respective ceremonies on the steps of City Hall — but only allowed about 4,000 ticketed guests in the plaza.
Following in their tracks, Mamdani’s public ceremony will be held on the steps of City Hall, in what will also be a joint swearing-in with City Comptroller-elect Mark Levine and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Mamdani will similarly have 4,000 ticketed guests for his City Hall ceremony, but promised more can attend.
“The 4,000 New Yorkers will be ones that we invite. However, the block party is an invitation to all,” he said.
Adams has not publicly said whether he will attend his successor’s swearing-in ceremony, as is customary for sitting mayors.
A City Hall spokesperson said Adams and Mamdani hadn’t discussed it yet. Adams was traveling in the nation of Georgia on Monday, following a jaunt to Mexico last week.
Mamdani said Hizzoner’s absence was not affecting his transition to office.
“It is not having an impact on our transition, and the mayor is invited as are New Yorkers across the five boroughs to join us in celebrating the beginning of a new era,” he said.
