“Asking the rich and big corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes is not radical. It’s exactly the right thing to do,” declared Sanders – who endorsed Mamdani even before his June primary victory over former New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and his “billionaire-backed status quo.”
the 34 years old The mayor on Thursday called the Brooklyn-born Sanders — who is 50 years his senior — “a man whose leadership I so often seek to emulate, and whose leadership I am so grateful to have been sworn into office today.”
During the afternoon inauguration ceremony — which followed an early morning swearing-in in the deserted subway station below City Hall — Mamdani also called for taxing the rich as he reiterated the agenda that… Believer He received more than 1.1 million votes in November.
“As of today, we will rule broadly and boldly. We may not always succeed, but we will never be accused of lacking the courage to try,” he said. “To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: The City Council will no longer hesitate to use its power to improve the lives of New Yorkers.”
“Here, where the language of the New Deal was born, we will return the vast resources of this city to the workers who call it home,” Mamdani pledged. “Not only will we make it possible for every New Yorker to once again afford the life they love, we will overcome the isolation that so many feel, and connect the people of this city together.”
“The cost of childcare will no longer discourage young people from starting a family, because we will provide universal childcare for the many by taxing the wealthiest few. Those living in rent-stabilized homes will no longer fear the latest rent increase, because we will freeze rent,” the mayor said.
He continued: “Riding the bus without worrying about the fare rising or whether you will be late for your destination is no longer considered a small miracle, because we will make the buses fast and free.” “These policies are not just about the costs we make free, they are about the lives we fill with freedom. For too long in our city, freedom has only belonged to those who can afford it. Our City Hall will change that.”
The ceremony also included remarks from another Mamdani supporter, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), as well as the swearing-in of Jumaane Williams for a third term as New York City Attorney and Mark Levin, the new Comptroller.
“New York, we chose courage over fear,” said Ocasio-Cortez, whose district straddles the Bronx and Queens. “We have chosen prosperity for the many rather than the spoils of the few. When established ways lead us to dig in our feet and seek refuge in the past, we choose instead to move toward creating a new future for all of us.”
As New York City begins the new year with progressive city leadership, the 2025 findings from the report Bloomberg The billionaire index has sparked new demands for a wealth tax. According to the tracker, the world’s 500 richest people added a record $2.2 trillion to their collective wealth last year. About a quarter of that amount went to just eight Big Tech billionaires: Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg.
In New York, Mamdani did just that Suggested Raising the state’s corporate tax rate from 8.85% to 11.5% and increasing taxes on individuals earning more than $1 million annually. Achieving these goals requires cooperation from state legislators.
Mamdani acknowledged Thursday that for most of history, the City Council’s response to the question of who New York belongs to has been, “It belongs only to the wealthy and the well-connected, the ones who never go out of their way to attract the attention of those in power.”
In the coming years, he pledged that City Hall would “advance an agenda of safety, affordability, and abundance, where government looks and lives like the people it represents, never wavers in the battle against corporate greed, and refuses to bow down to challenges that others have deemed too complex.”
“Together, we will tell a new story for our city,” the mayor said. “This will not be the story of one city, ruled by just the 1%. This will not be the story of two cities, rich versus poor. This will be the story of 8.5 million cities, each a New Yorker with hopes and fears, each a world, each woven together.”
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