Far-left New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will deliver the opening remarks at comrade Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral inauguration bash in Manhattan’s “Canyon of Heroes” on Thursday.
The firebrand Democrat will join liberal US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and state Attorney General Letitia James at the public block party-style event centered around a famed downtown stretch that has featured ticker-tape parades for everyone from Olympic gold medalists to war veterans to local championship sports teams.
“For the many New Yorkers who have long felt betrayed by a broken status quo, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez embodies a new kind of politics that puts working people at the heart of it,” Mamdani said in a statement.
Ocasio-Cortez, 35, has been a passionate backer of Mamdani, officially endorsing him in the weeks leading up to a crowded Democratic primary in June, in which the 34-year-old Democratic Socialists of America member shocked the political world by topping ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“I’ve been so proud to count her as a partner across the many stages of our people-powered movement — from the primary campaign to our Forest Hills rally in October to the very first day of the transition — and I’m honored that she’ll be a part of our historic City Hall inauguration,” Mamdani said in his statement Tuesday.
Mamdani will be initially sworn in as the Big Apple’s 112th mayor at midnight Thursday by James at the abandoned Old City Hall subway station during a private ceremony.
Then later in the day, Mamdani will hold the public inauguration celebration outside City Hall in the city’s famed “Canyon of Heroes.”
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The gathering will feature Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks and Sanders delivering the public oath of office for his socialist protégé.
It’s unclear if Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, will be on hand after the scandal-scarred pol dropped his bid for a second term.
