Fans of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who showed up outside City Hall for his inauguration Thursday, were sorely, sorely disappointed.
Not because he wasn’t inaugurated — he was — but because, like a typical socialist, he offered his guests nothing in return for their loyalty.
“Around 10,000 supporters stood outside City Hall during the event — billed as an ‘Inauguration for a New Era Block Party’ by Mamdani’s staff — crammed into several barricaded pens without access to bathrooms or any food concession stands,” the New York Post explained.
“It’s definitely not a block party,” attendee Danny Mahabir, 30, told the Post, adding that he’d expected there to be food and music.
Instead, Mahabir added, he ended up being “stuck behind the barricades watching it [the inauguration] on TV.”
The line to enter Mayor Mamdani’s block party is at least six blocks long, a cop told me.
Reporting on the fanfare for @TheFP. pic.twitter.com/NSytHCRqE1
— Olivia Reingold (@Olivia_Reingold) January 1, 2026
“It’s not exactly what I was expecting,” another attendee, Brooklyn resident Shane Turner, said. “I was expecting food and music.”
“I could’ve watched this from home,” a 25-year-old Queens woman anonymously told the Post.
The wait time to enter the supposed block party was especially bad.
“The police officers have not been informed about anything, they don’t know which entrance or where anything is,” an anonymous woman said, adding that she’d been waiting 90 minutes to get in.
“I’m really, really unhappy,” the unnamed woman added.
To make matters worse, the inauguration ceremony started at least 30 minutes late.
Mamdani supporters are awaiting the start of the inaugural block party. While most are all smiles, some are complaining of the miscommunication.
“We’ve been standing out here for over an hour and half. We’re not happy. The police officers have not been informed about anything.” pic.twitter.com/gfZyGGhdPv
— Desh Andrews (@deshedrews_) January 1, 2026
In fairness to Mamdani, his team had warned online that the so-called block party would feature zero portable restrooms “due to safety concerns” and “no food for sale within the block party.”
His team had also told attendees in advance that they could grab food from nearby if they wanted, though they’d have to leave the barricaded pens and go through a security checkpoint again to re-enter.
Mamdani, a so-called democratic socialist, is also facing backlash over his wife’s luxurious, high-end clothing. His wife, Rama Duwaji, appeared to wear $630 luxury leather boots to her husband’s inauguration.
“Duwaji, a 28-year-old artist, gave more socialite than socialist on New Year’s Day as she apparently rocked one of the fashion house Miista’s pricey boot designs — one which is said to be crafted from ‘vegetable tan cow leather’ and feature an ‘ultra-cushioned memory foam insole,'” the Post noted.
His contrast with her husband’s “equity” and “affordability” agenda irritated critics like CityDeskNYC, an X account that pushes sensible, non-socialist policies for the city.
Mamdani’s “affordability” agenda is a scam. His wife parades in $600 Miista boots while he pushes rent freezes that’ll collapse housing stock. They’re moving into Gracie Mansion to dodge the chaos their policies create.
Remember: this “man of the people” met his designer wife on…
— CityDeskNYC (@CityDeskNYC) January 1, 2026
“Remember: this ‘man of the people’ met his designer wife on Hinge while crafting a luxury aesthetic for his campaign,” the account tweeted. “Real New Yorkers can’t afford boots or rent—they’re stuck with Mamdani’s performative socialism and a city sliding into activist-run decay.”
Conservative commentator Viva Frei, meanwhile, pushed back on the idea that Mamdani and his wife are anything like Republican President Donald Trump and his wife.
“The literal definition of ‘champagne socialists’. Designer-boots socialists! 😂” he tweeted about Mamdani and his wife.
“And the morons in the replies thinking they’ve got an ‘own’ posting pictures of Trump or Melania wearing fancy clothes. A capitalist who made his own money is and spending it the way he wants is not a hypocrite. A self-avowed socialist living a life of luxury is a hypocrite,” he correctly added.
The literal definition of “champagne socialists”.
Designer-boots socialists! 😂
And the morons in the replies thinking they’ve got an “own” posting pictures of Trump or Melania wearing fancy clothes.
A capitalist who made his own money is and spending it the way he wants is… https://t.co/BInJFj6Qr3
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) January 1, 2026
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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