Dayyyyum

by liberal japonicus

Two thoughts, one serious, one not.

Is it surprising that there was no mention of 9-11 as a symbol of New York resilience? I have to imagine that he and his speechwriters didn’t forget, but felt it was too difficult. Or perhaps he wants to speak to a generation for whom 9-11 is ancient history?

A non serious thought, there is a good drinking game to be had if you take a drink everytime Mamdani mentions a food dish and chug if it is something you haven’t had before. Alternatively, for everytime he gives a shout out to a New York neighborhood.

I had to look up his joke about being the “111th or 112th mayor of New York” and Gemini gave me this:

Historically, the city counted Eric Adams as the 110th mayor, which would have made Mamdani the 111th. However, in December 2025, historians (specifically researcher Paul Hortenstine) pointed out that Matthias Nicolls, who served as mayor in the 17th century, had a second, non-consecutive term in 1674 that was never counted in the official sequence.

Because the city’s counting system generally assigns a new number to each person who takes the office (even if they serve non-consecutive terms, like Grover Cleveland on the presidential level), the omission of Nicolls’ second term meant:

• Fiorello La Guardia was actually the 100th mayor (not the 99th).
• Eric Adams was actually the 111th mayor (despite his famous “I’m 110” catchphrase).
• Zohran Mamdani is officially the 112th Mayor.

Anyway, a nice speech to start the year.