Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that his Jan. 1 inauguration at City Hall Park will be open to the general public via a number of tickets that will be available online this week.
Gabrielle Fialkoff, the chair of the inauguration ceremony, said de Blasio didn’t want his swearing in to be limited to the political elite and media.
"We really wanted to make certain, and make a special effort, that we had the ability to invite folks who are our supporters from all over the city," she said.
Fialkoff said there will be 5,000 seats at the noon ceremony, which will also include the swearing in of public advocate-elect Leticia James and comptroller-elect Scott Stringer, and they are still working out how many of those seats will go to the general public. A website will be launched with more information about the ticket application process.
The inauguration chair said they have offered a ticket to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Ticket-holders will also be treated to food and refreshments at a post inauguration party and might have a chance to meet de Blasio. Those who miss out on the Jan. 1 event will have another opportunity to personally see the mayor elect in person four days later.
On Jan. 5, De Blasio’s team will offer New Yorkers a tour of Gracie Mansion, which will house the first family for the first time in a dozen years, as Bloomberg chose to live in his Upper East Side townhounse. Visitors will be able to see all of the rooms on the first floor with a historian who will fill them in on the mansion’s legacy. At the end, they will meet de Blasio and get a picture with him.
