Mayor Zohran Mamdani is throwing a massive event to mark his first 100 days in office — and thousands of New York City teachers and other municipal employees are invited.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels sent the invitation to educators in a “Dear Colleagues” letter Tuesday, letting them know about Mamdani’s plan to deliver a “100 Day Address” on Sunday evening at the Knockdown Center in Queens.
“The progress made during this time has only been possible because of the dedication and hard work of City workers across agencies,” Samuels wrote. “To recognize these contributions, City employees are invited to express interest in attending.”
The letter provided a link to an application form to attend the event, with an RSVP deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“Please note that submitting the form does not guarantee attendance. If interest exceeds capacity, invitations will be distributed by lottery to ensure representation across agencies,” Samuels said.
The celebration at the concert venue in Maspeth is an “invitation-only event, and invitations are non-transferable,” the letter noted.
Confirmed guests will receive a formal invitation with full event details from the mayor’s office.
Those already volunteering for the event need not apply, the chancellor said.
“The team looks forward to seeing you there!” Samuels said.
One teacher who applied didn’t expect to score an invite, given the mass-blitz that also went out to employees of other city agencies.
The Mamdani event will be standing room only, though there will be accommodations for people with disabilities, officials said.
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The Knockdown Center is New York’s largest independent music venue, with a standing capacity of about 3,200 people.
This 50,000-square-foot building was once a glass factory, then a warehouse for the Manhattan Door Factory, which invented the “knock-down” doorframe there in the 1950s.
One government watchdog said the Mamdani administration invite to city employees did not appear to violate any ethics or campaign rules.
“We took a look at the invite but nothing strikes us offhand as a violation of ethics laws or inappropriate here,” said Alex Camarda, of Reinvent Albany.
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“This is purely voluntary on the part of city employees, and the Mayor is laying out his vision for the year,” Camarda said.
“While an address like this is political in nature, it’s also consistent with his government duties as the leader of City government.”
