Fans of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani were herded into barricaded pens without bathrooms or food at a “block party” to celebrate his inauguration Thursday as mayor of New York.
“It's definitely not a group party,” Astoria resident Danny Mahabir, 30, said. said That New York Postexplaining that he expected food and music on New Year's Day.
About 10,000 supporters of the Muslim socialist stood outside City Hall during the event, which Mamdani's staff called the “Inauguration of the New Era Bloc Party,” according to the report.
Mahabir, who wore three layers of clothing to protect himself from the 20-degree weather, said he and others were “just stuck behind the barricades watching it on TV.”
The crowd heard from other far-left speakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), before Mamdani took the oath of office.
“It’s not exactly what I expected,” 30-year-old Brooklyn resident Shane Turner told the publication. “I was expecting food and music.”
“I could watch it from home,” said a 25-year-old Queens woman who declined to identify herself.
The security lines also reportedly caused some confusion and delayed the entry of some visitors. Event organizers advised participants to arrive by 11 a.m. for the 1 p.m. ceremony, which began half an hour later. Another woman spoke about this, wishing to remain anonymous. Mail she waited in line for 90 minutes to get to the observation deck.
“The police officers were not informed of anything, they don’t know which entrance or where anything is,” she said. “I'm very, very unhappy.”
Mamdani's team warned attendees on its website that there would be no portable toilets at the event due to “safety reasons” and also stated that “no food will be sold at the party.”
According to the report, Mamdani officials told participants that there were markets and places to buy food nearby, but they would have to leave the barricaded area and go through another security check to get back inside.
However, many of those present said they were ardent supporters of the new mayor.
“I'm not disappointed,” Turner said. “I came here to witness history. The last four years under the previous mayor seemed like hell.”
