New York's first openly socialist mayor used his inauguration to reject free-market individualism outright, with Zohran Mamdani pledging to replace what he called "rugged individualism" with government-driven collectivism.

"I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist," Mamdani said outside City Hall. The inauguration aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform.

"I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical," he said. "As the great senator from Vermont [Bernie Sanders] once said, what's radical is a system which gives so much to so few and denies so many people the basic necessities of life.

"We will strive each day to ensure that no New Yorker is priced out of any one of those basic necessities. Because this is a government of New York by New York and for New York."

Mamdani, 34, takes office facing grand expectations that he can ease the city's soaring cost of living. Business leaders, however, have raised concerns that his untested policies could cripple the economy.

He swept into office on an ambitious affordability agenda that included curbing soaring rents, expanding free child care and creating a free bus system. Mamdani said his administration will pursue that agenda "where the language of the New Deal was born," returning "the vast resources of this city to the workers who call it home."

"Not only will we make it possible for every New Yorker to afford a life they love once again, we will overcome the isolation that too many feel and connect the people of this city to one another," he said. "The cost of child care will no longer discourage young adults from starting a family, because we will deliver universal child care for the many by taxing the wealthiest few.

"Those in rent-stabilized homes will no longer dread the latest rent hike because we will freeze the rent. Getting on a bus without worrying about a fare hike, or whether you'll be able to get to your destination on time, will no longer be deemed a small miracle because we will make those buses fast and free. These policies are not simply about the costs we make free, but the lives we fill with freedom."

Sanders, the most prominent socialist in Congress, presided over Mamdani's ceremonial swearing-in as the mayor held his hand over a centuries-old copy of the Quran. Mamdani officially took the oath of office earlier Monday in a separate ceremony led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"Demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes is not radical," Sanders said, echoing Mamdani's agenda. "It is exactly the right thing to do.

"Today, while over 60% of our people in New York, people in Vermont, people all over this country are living paycheck to paycheck, we have more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had. While tens of millions struggle to put food on the table, pay for healthcare, pay for housing, the top 1% have never, ever had it so good.

"And yet there are billionaires and large corporations that pay almost nothing in taxes. That has got to end. That will end. The billionaire class in this city and in this country have got to understand that in America, they cannot have it all. That America, our great country, must belong to all of us, not just a few. And that lesson begins today in New York City."

Mamdani concluded his speech by urging New Yorkers not only to demand more from City Hall, but also to "demand more of yourselves as well."

"From today onwards, we will understand victory very simply [as] something with the power to transform lives and something that demands effort from each of us every single day," he said. "What we achieve together will reach across the five boroughs, and it will resonate far beyond. There are many who will be watching. They want to know if the left can govern. They want to know if the struggles that afflict them can be solved.

"They want to know if it is right to hope again. So, standing together with the wind of purpose at our backs, we will do something that New Yorkers do better than anyone else. We will set an example for the world.

"If what [Frank] Sinatra said is true, let us prove that anyone can make it in New York and anywhere else. To let us prove that when a city belongs to the people, there is no need too small to be met, no person too sick to be made healthy, no one too alone to feel like New York is their home. The work continues. The work endures. The work, my friends, has only just begun."

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