Good morning, and welcome to (the real) Day One of the de Blasio administration…
The Brooklyn Democrat has technically been New York’s mayor since a little after midnight on New Year’s Day, but Wednesday was all about his inauguration, during which he took center stage — to an actual fanfare — in how this city runs.
We had
full team liveblog coverage
of the big day, so if you missed it,
on replay.
But wait: There’s much, much more.
In an 81-minute outdoor ceremony, de Blasio
promised swift action
on his centerpiece campaign pledge to attack the “inequality crisis” — the divide between the haves and have-nots,
in our big sweep story. “Let me be clear: When I said we would take dead aim at the tale of two cities, I meant it. And we will do it,” de Blasio vowed.
A Sanitation Department chaplain startled listeners when he
compared New York to a “plantation”
during his inauguration invocation,
. “Let the plantation called New York City be the city of God, a city set upon the hill, a light shining in darkness,” said the Rev. Fred Lucas of the Brooklyn Community Church.
Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony was
no party for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg
, who sat stone-faced in the front row on stage as speaker after speaker tore apart his legacy,
: The rude awakening began moments into the ceremony when the singer and activist and Harry Belafonte promised that Mayor de Blasio “would not let this city remain a community divided.”
Letitia James, who replaces de Blasio as the city’s public advocate, delivered
a particularly harsh assessment
of the outgoing administration,
: “The growing gap between the haves and the have-nots undermine our city and tears the fabric of our democracy,” James said.
Newly minted city Controller Scott Stringer Stringer “was the first to be sworn in, and
largely eschewed lofty rhetoric
for a more pragmatic speech,”
, “asserting that ‘pursuing a progressive agenda and being fiscally responsible is not mutually exclusive.'”
Ramya Ramana, 18 years old, the city’s youth poet laureate, got some of the day’s loudest applause with
a fiery poem
that tackled the perception of a growing divide in Brooklyn,
. “No more brownstone and brown skin playing tug of war,” she said.
The VIP seats for de Blasio’s inauguration ceremony were packed with people who did not find much of a welcome mat when Michael Bloomberg was mayor:
Union leaders.
.
For those with long-standing ties to the new mayor, de Blasio’s inauguration —
the first for a Democrat in 20 years
— was an especially stirring event,
: “We were neighbors on 12th Street in Park Slope, and I was his treasurer on his first campaign,” said Lynn Radov, a de Blasio supporter. “I feel like he’s really arrived, and it gives me hope for the city.”
It was a whirlwind of a show for a mayor who’s taken the city by storm: To set the tone for a more liberal, diverse administration and to establish a party vibe, de Blasio
tapped a globetrotting Brooklyn-based DJ
to provide a high-energy soundtrack,
our Jennifer Fermino, Durkin and Daniel Beekman write
.
But
the stars of the (political) show
, as usual, were former President Bill Clinton, who administered the oath of office, and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who got prime seating (and positioning for the cameras).
: “In his brief speech introducing Mr. de Blasio, Mr. Clinton strongly endorsed the mayor’s ‘core campaign commitment that we have to have a city of shared opportunities, shared prosperity, shared responsibility,’ and called
the growing tide of economic inequality
a ‘horrible constraint on economic growth.'”
De Blasio will get
a very early lesson in crisis management
as up to nine inches of snow and near-blizzard conditions are forecast for Thursday afternoon through Friday morning, with winds gusting up to 40 mph and single-digit temperatures,
our Oren Yaniv and Larry McShane report
.
That just goes to show who’s the boss:
Mother Nature
, according to Gov. Cuomo.
IMAGE: COREY SIPKIN/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
NYDN columnist
: “Those who hope de Blasio will soon get ‘realistic’ and step back from his progressive campaign promises
got no glimmer of that
on his first day in office.”
NYDN columnist and edit board member
: “The new mayor’s speech was just fine. Some of what led up to it was
odious and divisive
, more befitting a second-rate protest rally than the inauguration of the leader of the greatest city in the world.”
Michael Powell
: “Mr. de Blasio was flanked during this ceremony by his two political mentors, former President Bill Clinton and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. They are the Great Triangulators, who most often tiptoe around raging liberal fires. Their presence cast into sharp relief Mr. de Blasio’s
embrace of a new progressive zeitgeist
.”
President Obama and former President Clinton said they were
wishing former First Lady Barbara Bush a speedy recovery
two days after the 88-year-old was hospitalized in Houston for a respiratory issue,
: Obama took time from his Hawaii vacation to send a written statement, saying the wife of former President George H.W. Bush has a “vibrant spirit that we hope will have her feeling better soon.”
From our Glenn Blain in Albany:
The calendar shows 2014 but Gov. Cuomo s
till has some leftover business
from 2013 to attend to. There are 11 bills left over from last year’s legislative session that are awaiting action from the governor. The bills, including one that would require heating oil sold in the city and other downstate counties to contain at least 2% biodiesel were sent to Cuomo’s desk during the last days of 2013 and, under a quirk in state legislative law, now has 30 days to decide what to do with them. He can also do nothing, which would result in a pocket veto. Administration officials, however, said it’s likely Cuomo will sign or veto all of them within the next 10 days.
From our Bramhall’s World:
Leaders’ Lineup:
President Obama
is in Hawaii.
Gov. Cuomo
10:00 AM: Attends Inauguration of Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, Bethpage High School, Center for the Performing Arts, 10 Cherry Ave., Bethpage, NY.
Mayor de Blasio
12:00 PM: Swears in Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, 1 Police Plaza, Manhattan.
Tuning In:
AM 970, 6 a.m.: Sliwa’s on vacation; alternative programming with Bill Bennett.
UPDATE:
We’re told Curtis Sliwa is moving to WABC radio, where he’ll be working the noon to 3 p.m. slot with Ron Kuby.
WNYC 93.9 FM, 10 a.m.: Michael Grynbaum, New York Times City Hall bureau chief, and Errol Louis, host of NY1’s “Road to City Hall” recap the inauguration and discuss de Blasio’s first day in office; state Senate Democratic conference leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on the next session and dealing with the IDC; Christopher Beha, deputy editor of Harper’s, on the January index; WNYC reporter Matt Katz and Nancy Solomon, managing editor of New Jersey Public Radio, on NJ politics.
NY1 News, 7 pm: former Giuliani Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro and former Bloomberg Communications Director Bill Cunningham.
And if you thought people were fine with a freezing wait for de Blasio’s inauguration…
News tips, schedules or suggestions? Email us — and follow @DNDailyPolitics, @CelesteKatzNYC and our NYDN political team on Twitter!