Zohran Mamdani’s has big plans for a triumphal and self-congratulatory “block party” following his New Year’s Day inauguration.
Plans for his actual mayoralty? Meh.
Maybe he’ll just wave a magic wand to keep the city running.
Meanwhile, numerous important positions remain unfilled.
And his vetting process itself needs vetting: Catherine Da Costa, who he named director of appointments, had to step aside when her vile history of antisemitic remarks emerged, with Team Mamdani claiming ignorance of them.
He’s also selected dozens of transition-team members who are tight with radical antisemitic organizations, including the Nation of Islam and Within Our Lifetime, which protests at synagogues.
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Wasn’t he trying to boost ties to the Jewish community and show how his mayoralty wouldn’t be antisemtic?
More important, what’s Mamdani’s plan for running, say, the schools, which people will be in charge and what are their backgrounds?
Who’ll oversee transportation and the hospitals?
The biggest question: How will his team close what the Independent Budget Office says is a $6.5 billion budget hole that must be plugged by summer?
Budget cuts? New taxes? Remember, the city will need even more money for Mamdani’s $10 billion in promised freebies, and more still to cover any cuts in federal aid.
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Not to worry: The plans for the block party are in good shape, even if they smack of medieval coronations, in which the new monarch presents himself to “his” people in a display of grandeur and pageantry.
Socialist hero Sen. Bernie Sanders will swear in the new Hizzoner.
Then, seven blocks of Broadway south of City Hall will be blocked off to accommodate an expected 40,000 guests.
Controversial children’s YouTuber Ms. Rachel (Rachel Griffin Accurso) — who’s repeatedly posted pro-Hamas propaganda while closing her eyes to the plight of Israelis — is serving on the inaugural committee, lest anyone forget Mamdani’s central preoccupation: “evil” Israel.
No food or drink will be sold, but a website helpfully advises attendees to “bring your own snacks, and some to share!” — a hint, perhaps, of how New Yorkers might handle shortages when Mamdani’s city-owned grocery system runs out of food.
It’s certainly expected that a new mayor will celebrate his inauguration.
But planning a “bread-and-circuses” blowout while his team seems wholly unprepared to actually run the city is surely a bad omen for the next four years.