New Yorkers broke out into chants of “tax the rich” during Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as the city’s mayor.
On New Year’s Eve, Mamdani was sworn in as the first Muslim Mayor of New York City at a at a closed-door ceremony in a disused subway station.
The 34-year-old claimed a stunning election win last year, going from a relative unknown to the mayor of America’s biggest city, riding a wave of anger at the cost of living in New York as voters flocked to his socialist messaging.
READ NEXT: Zohran Mamdani to push ahead with tax rises for the rich as he’s sworn in as New York mayor
On New Year’s Day, Mamdani then had his public inauguration where he was sworn in by US Senator Bernie Sanders.
Sanders also spoke at the ceremony, and it was during his speech that New Yorkers broke out into “tax the rich” chants.
One of Mamdani’s key pledges is to hike personal income tax rate on annual earnings greater than $1mn by 2 percentage points to about 5.9 per cent and increase the top corporate tax from 7.25 per cent to 11.5 per cent.
The revenue generated from this will be used to fund socialist policies such as free universal child care in New York City, free buses, state-owned grocery stories.
When Sanders told the crowd that “the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes,” the crowd stood up and cheers, before chanting “tax the rich!”
You can watch the moment below.
Mamdani, who placed his hand on the Qur’an to take his oath, then told New Yorkers: “Today begins a new era.”
He vowed he would “govern expansively and audaciously,” adding: “We may not always succeed but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
“I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” he said.