Weather and Visiting Senator Steal the Show at de Blasio Inauguration

By JEFFERY C. MAYS and J. DAVID GOODMANJAN. 1, 2018


Excerpt:

It was Mr. de Blasio’s inauguration, but the clear star was Mr. Sanders.

Vicki Winters, 60, a travel agent and blogger, said that she braved the cold “because I love Bernie Sanders, because I feel the Bern.” She wore an ankle-length mink coat and matching mink hat that had belonged to her mother, along with battery-powered, heated gloves. “I think de Blasio is good, but when I heard Bernie Sanders was going to be here I wanted to come and show the love,” said Ms. Winters, adding that she got tickets that had been made available online by City Hall.

Benjy Kile, 47, and his son Harry, 18, a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School, whose alumni include Mr. de Blasio’s son, Dante, also had come to see Mr. Sanders. “Well, you know, it’s the second time around,” Benjy Kile said of the mayoral inauguration. “He and I are big Bernie fans.”

Mr. Sanders, in his remarks, touched on his signature issues, such as health care, climate change and income inequality. “In this city, the largest city in our country, the people of New York, under Bill de Blasio, have chosen to move government in a very different direction than what we’ve seen in Washington,” Mr. Sanders said.

Ruben Diaz Jr., the Bronx borough president, said that hearing Mr. Sanders speak made up for the brutal cold. “He could have been anywhere in the country,’’ Mr. Diaz said. “I’m sure he’s in high demand, but he decided to be here with our mayor, and us, in New York City. “It was the added bonus. If there was a purpose to be out here in the middle of the cold — or a number of reasons — Bernie was certainly on top of that list.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/nyregion/weather-and-visiting-senator-steal-the-show-at-de-blasio-inauguration.html


Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and his wife, Jane Sanders, tried to stay warm as Mr. de Blasio gave his inaugural address. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times