Zohran Mamdani takes oath after Sanders fires up crowd

Zohran Mamdani was sworn in at about 2:40 p.m. by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. "Today begins a new era," Mamdani said.

Just before the swearing-in, Sanders thanked the people of New York City.

“At a time when we are seeing too much hatred, too much divisiveness, and too much injustice, thank you for electing Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York. Thank you for inspiring the nation," Sanders said.

Sanders said Mamdani defeated the Democrat and Republican establishments, along with President Donald Trump and “enormously wealthy oligarchs. And you defeated them in the biggest political upset in modern American history.”

Sanders noted that governing a city of 8 million will be a challenge. But he said that the city has the resolve to fix its housing crisis, along with providing free bus transportation and child care.

“And lastly, and maybe most importantly, demanding that the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes is not radical,” Sanders said as the crowd chanted, "Tax the rich" to loud applause. “It’s exactly the right thing to do.”

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.