Mayor Bill De Blasio Pledges More Progress At Inauguration

NEW YORK CITY HALL — Mayor Bill de Blasio took the oath of office for his second term Monday, pledging to maintain New York City as a "beacon" of equity and diversity as the rest of the nation moves backward.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who sought the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, will ceremonially swore in the Democratic mayor before a crowd of about 1,000 people at the frigid inauguration outside City Hall.

The mayor had taken his official oath before the city clerk, Michael McSweeney, at a small City Hall ceremony on Sunday night.

Public Advocate Letitia James and City Comptroller Scott Stringer, both Democrats, also were sworn in for their second terms on Monday.

Touting the city's historic low crime rate and his work to preserve affordable housing and create jobs — as he did during last year's re-election campaign — de Blasio cast his second term as the continuation of "a new progressive era" that will make

"We are called, in a time of vast, overt disparities, to do something different, to be something better," de Blasio said.

De Blasio, James and Stringer were easily re-elected in November, defeating their little-known Republican and third-party opponents by wide margins in a low-turnout election.

Similar to his campaign speeches, the mayor's second inaugural address emphasized the importance of building on his first-term accomplishments but included little talk of new policies or initiatives.

De Blasio continued to characterize New York City as a shining example of how progressive policies work well, despite doubters from the right and threats from right-wing federal leaders like President Donald Trump, though he did not mention the president by name.

Returning to the anti-income inequality message that carried him into City Hall, de Blasio warned that city and society ruled by "the titans of Wall Street and the 1 percent" would lead to division and danger.

Sanders, a newfound ally of de Blasio's who stumped with the mayor in October, said the city brings "good news" for immigrants and working-class people amid an onslaught of federal policies that he said will only exacerbate the nation's inequities.

"We have a government here that has chosen to listen to the needs of working families," the Brooklyn-born Sanders said.

But to James and Stringer — both considered potential candidates for de Blasio's job in 2021 — the city faces just as many challenges within its borders as outside of them, namely rents that continue to rise faster than wages and a bulging homeless population.

Stringer said the city needs "bold" ideas to address its persistent problems. Though he praised de Blasio's universal preschool program, the comptroller looked to the past for examples of those bold ideas, such as Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia's public housing programs and Gov. Nelson Rockefeller's establishment of the City University of New York.

James seemed to make a subtle dig at de Blasio's plan to build 90 new homeless shelters around the city to house its 62,000 homeless people. "The best solution for homelessness is more homes, not more shelters," James said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, de Blasio's political nemesis, appeared at the mayor's first inauguration in 2014. But on Monday he was on Long Island, speaking at the swearing-in of Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, who won an upset election last year to become the third Democrat to ever hold that office.

De Blasio spoke for about 12 minutes, keeping his speech relatively short — a minute shorter than James' — to give the crowd relief from the cold.

Planned performances from youth choirs were cut from the program because of the frigid temperatures in the teens. A light breeze made the air feel even colder.

Sanders, dressed in a dark green parka, appeared to shiver as he waited to introduce de Blasio. But he said it felt like "a warm and pleasant afternoon" in Vermont.

(Lead image: Mayor Bill de Blasio takes the oath of office from Sen. Bernie Sanders at his inauguration ceremony on Monday. Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photography Office)