By the people, for the people… and now with the people.
Organizers are trumpeting Bill de Blasio’s New Year’s Day
as mayor as offering an “unprecedented level of access” to the city’s incoming top leaders, including tickets made available to the general public and an open-house reception at
.
De Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, will remain at City Hall to greet New Yorkers after the noon swearing-in on the steps of the new mayor, incoming Controller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate-elect Letitia James.
Five days later, de Blasio and McCray will receive visitors at Gracie, where tours of the historic upper East Side building– which, unlike Mayor Bloomberg,
— will be offered.
In a Tuesday afternoon statement, Inauguration Chair Gabrielle Fialkoff said de Blasio “has pledged an Inauguration for all New Yorkers, and that’s what New Yorkers will get in these ceremonies.
“From spending hours at City Hall after the swearing-in meeting attendees, to opening up Gracie Mansion for anyone and everyone to attend, Inauguration 2014 promises to be one of the most open and accessible swearing-in events in New York City history,” she said.
The inauguration committee has yet to detail how people can sign up to attend the festivities and Gracie meet-and-greet.
Mayor Bloomberg’s inaugurations became progressively less star-studded over his three terms.
In 2002, the Mets’ Al Leiter hosted the ceremony, which also featured Bette Midler singing the National Anthem and a performance by jazz icon Wynton Marsalis.
While Bloomberg spent close to $2 million of his own money on the festivities — including a Tweed Courthouse party where he spent several hours in a receiving line — organizers said they meant to keep the production fairly low-key in deference to the city just having gotten through the Sept. 11 terror attacks, followed by the Rockaways crash of American Airlines Flight 587.
Four years later, Bloomberg’s second inaugural featured Liza Minelli, Barbara Walters and John Lithgow, with an afterparty (refreshments: hot dogs) at the Emigrant Bank building downtown.
His final inauguration featured student emcees, and Hizzoner followed up a brief speech by lending a hand to a variety of volunteer projects across the city.
IMAGE: BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS
