New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated his first St. Patrick’s Day as mayor with a dramatic show of respect for two groups he may have offended in the past — members of the Catholic community and police officers.
For the new mayor, Tuesday was a day to mend a lot of fences.
Mamdani meets with Archbishop Hicks
Mamdani was criticized for breaking a decades-long tradition by skipping the installation of Archbishop Ronald Hicks last month, with some saying it was a missed opportunity to engage with Catholics. However, he tried to make up for that by being front and center at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Mass and by meeting privately with him.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, right, takes in a St. Patrick’s Day Mass with Archbishop Ronald Hicks.
CBS News New York
“I had the pleasure of having a sit-down with Archbishop Hicks yesterday, and it was truly a joy to get a chance to sit with him and celebrate the fact that both of us are beginning our leadership journeys at roughly the same time here in New York City,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani marches with NYPD at the parade
He also marched in the parade up Fifth Avenue with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and the department’s new co-chaplain, Timothy Cardinal Dolan.
The mayor has had a somewhat fractured relationship with the NYPD. He once called for defunding the police and recently angered officers following a very public snowball fight in Washington Square Park.
Though two officers were injured and several people were charged, Mamdani dismissed the snowball fight as merely a fun way to celebrate a snow cyclone.
Mamdani lauds former president of Ireland
He also hosted his first event at Gracie Mansion, a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast. The guest of honor was former Ireland President Mary Robinson. He said he especially appreciated her support for the Palestinian cause.
“I think also of how she stood steadfast alongside the people of Palestine,” Mamdani said. “Over the past few years, as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many. Palestinians are so often left to weep alone, yet former President Robinson has never been silent.”