Progressive Power Lineup: Mamdani Inauguration To Feature Bernie, AOC, Kal Penn

India-West News Desk

NEW YORK, NY – New York City Mayor elect Zohran Mamdani will mark the start of his term with two distinct inauguration events on New Year’s Day, featuring some of the most prominent figures of the progressive movement, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders. The ceremonies are designed to underscore both the symbolism and substance of Mamdani’s incoming administration, which formally begins at midnight on January 1.

In the lead up to the inauguration, Mamdani’s team also unveiled a 48 member inaugural committee that includes actor and author Kal Penn and author and facilitator Priya Parker. His transition team said the group brings together New Yorkers from across fields and communities, reflecting the creativity, leadership, and lived experience of the city Mamdani is set to lead.

Mamdani will assume office at the stroke of midnight with a private swearing in ceremony inside the long abandoned Old City Hall subway station in Lower Manhattan. As revelers gather in Times Square to welcome the New Year, Mamdani and his family which includes his famous mother Mira Nair, will instead be underground, where New York’s first subway line once began. New York Attorney General Letitia James will administer the oath of office during the closed door event.

The mayor elect has described the historic station as a powerful symbol of his vision for the city. “When Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 — one of New York’s 28 original subway stations — it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working peoples’ lives,” Mamdani said in a statement. “That ambition need not be a memory confined only to our past, nor must it be isolated only to the tunnels beneath City Hall: It will be the purpose of the administration fortunate enough to serve New Yorkers from the building above.”

He added that the moment carries personal and civic weight. “When I take my oath from the station at the dawn of the New Year, I will do so humbled by the opportunity to lead millions of New Yorkers into a new era of opportunity, and honored to carry forward our city’s legacy of greatness,” Mamdani said.

The Old City Hall station, celebrated for its architectural grandeur, was the first stop on the city’s original subway line in 1904 but was closed to the public in 1945 due to low ridership and changes in train design.

Later in the day, Mamdani will take part in a public, ceremonial swearing in at City Hall at 1 p.m., alongside incoming Comptroller Mark Levine and re elected Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Sanders will administer the oath at the daytime ceremony, which will double as a car free block party near City Hall.

Ocasio Cortez, who endorsed Mamdani early in the primary and campaigned with him throughout the race, will introduce him. “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. “I’ve been so proud to count her as a partner across the many stages of our people powered movement… and I’m honored that she’ll be a part of our historic City Hall inauguration.”

The public ceremony will be open to 4,000 ticketed guests, with an additional watch party planned near Broadway to broaden access.