Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News
Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio at City Hall for inauguration preparations on Tuesday. In a symbolic gesture, de Blasio is to begin his mayorality at his home in Brooklyn, miles from the glitter of Midtown.
Bill de Blasio was poised to become the city’s 109th mayor just after midnight Wednesday in the same place where he launched his long-shot campaign — his modest Brooklyn rowhouse.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was to administer the oath, launching a new political era in New York after 20 years of rule by Republican and independent mayors.
Democrat de Blasio’s decision to begin his mayoralty at his brownstone in Brooklyn, miles from the glitter of Midtown, was filled with symbolism.
It was a nod to his goal of representing everyday New Yorkers who live outside Manhattan’s choicest zip codes.
And it represented a departure from his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, whom de Blasio relentlessly portrayed as Manhattan-centric.
De Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, and their teenage children, Dante and Chiara — a close-knit interracial family who were fixtures on the campaign trail all summer — were scheduled to join him.
Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News
De Blasio’s family (from left to right) daughter Chiara, son Dante and wife Chirlane McCray at City Hall for preparations on Tuesday. Dante and Chiara were able to see the small office where their parents met more than 20 years ago.
De Blasio initially tried to keep the swearing-in closed to the media, saying he didn’t want his narrow street clogged by press vehicles. After pressure from media outlets, he relented, agreeing to let a pool of one television and one Associated Press reporter witness the event, which also was to be live-streamed on the Internet.
De Blasio was scheduled to be sworn in a second time at noon on Wednesday in a large outdoor ceremony at City Hall before 5,000 people and a live citywide television audience.
De Blasio spent a large part of Tuesday preparing for the City Hall ceremony, which will be attended by a who’s who of heavyweight politicos, including Gov. Cuomo, former President Bill Clinton — who will administer the oath at City Hall — and Clinton’s wife, Hillary.
De Blasio and his family traveled to City Hall on Tuesday to get a lay of the land ahead of the outdoor ceremony.
As they were standing outside, they ran into Bloomberg on his last day in office.
The two men greeted each other warmly as municipal workers hurried around them setting up chairs and conducting last-minute sound checks.
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
De Blasio and his family ran into Mayor Bloomberg on his last day in office.
The two men chatted for several minutes, and in a sign that any bad feelings appeared to be behind them, they later tweeted kind words to each other.
“Best of luck to the de Blasio administration,” Bloomberg tweeted. “May the best days for our city be ahead of us.”
De Blasio respectfully responded, “Thank you, Mr. Mayor.”
In between preparing for the big day and talking with Bloomberg, the de Blasios also took a trip down memory lane inside City Hall.
The incoming mayor and his wife brought their children to the small office where they met more than 20 years ago, when both worked as low-level aides to then-Mayor David Dinkins.
“Where it all began … ” McCray tweeted, along with a picture of their kids checking out the space.
Theodore Parisienne/Theodore Parisienne
De Blasio and Bloomberg greeted each other warmly as municipal workers hurried around them setting up chairs and conducting last-minute sound checks.
It was the first time Dante and Chiara saw the spot where their parents met, although they had heard the story their whole lives.
De Blasio also spent several hours practicing his inauguration speech in a room off the City Council chambers.
He left just after Bloomberg’s emotional final sendoff from the building following 12 years in office.
In addition to de Blasio, Bill Bratton was to be sworn in as police commissioner, ensuring a smooth transition of power after Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly stepped down.
Bratton, who also served as police chief under Rudy Giuliani, was slated to be sworn in at Police Headquarters in lower Manhattan.
The inauguration culminated a remarkable rise to power for de Blasio, who did not hold elective office until he began serving on his local Brooklyn school board in the late 1990s.
After serving as campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s successful bid for the U.S. Senate in 2000, de Blasio won a seat on the City Council in 2001. He won his first citywide race in 2009, becoming public advocate, setting the stage for his successful mayoral campaign and his ascent to the peak of political power in the city.
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