Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani delivered remarks Sunday morning at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Crotona Park East.
He received a standing ovation as he spoke to congregants about his priorities for making New York more affordable. He also assured them that The Bronx would not be forgotten or pushed aside.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani invoked a Bible verse as he addressed congregants, saying the words of James 2:14 — “faith without work is death” — guide him as he prepares to take office in 39 days.
After the service, Mamdani spoke with reporters outside, where he was pressed on past comments in which he called President Donald Trump a fascist. He had a cordial meeting with the president in the Oval Office on Friday.
“The responsibility I have as mayor of this city is to work with anyone who can help to alleviate the affordability crisis and deliver dignity to every person that calls the city home,” he said. “It is critically important to both be honest about our own opinions, our own assessments, and be committed to anyone that can further them.”
Mamdani said he and Trump agreed on several issues during their meeting, including keeping NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
“He saw, as do I — as do many New Yorkers — the importance of continuing the results we've seen under Commissioner Tisch’s leadership of lowering crime across the five boroughs,” Mamdani said.
The mayor-elect said he will spend the coming weeks preparing for his first actions once sworn in.
“We will have a City Hall that is ready and prepared to deliver on Day 1,” he said. “That is what we are spending this transition doing.”
Mamdani will become New York’s 111th mayor in just over a month. He will take the helm as the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century, with many watching to see whether he can fulfill his campaign promises.