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At the Inauguration: New Yorkers at the Inauguration Festivities


Erin Schaff/The New York Times


The performance of the national anthem. The swearing-in of the vice president. And an appearance at the evening celebrations.


As President Biden took his oath of office as the nation’s 46th president on Tuesday, New Yorkers played several roles in the ceremonies, from providing security at the United States Capitol to the main events.


One state official whom viewers might have expected to see was absent. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Wednesday that he had chosen to forgo the trip out of concern about potential protests in Albany, which did not materialize.


“I’m very excited about the president and the change for this nation. He’s been a great friend to me personally.”

Mr. Cuomo said.


Here’s how other New Yorkers participated in Inauguration Day:


The ceremonies

Before Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office, Lady Gaga performed the national anthem. She is well-known for her roots in New York City and wrote her first album in a walk-up apartment near Tompkins Square Park.


Minutes later, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who grew up in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx, swore in Ms. Harris. A designer who lives in SoHo, Christopher John Rogers, helped create the purple outfit Ms. Harris wore.


Jennifer Lopez, who is also from the Bronx, sang “This Land Is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful,” reciting the final words of the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish toward the end of her performance.


The preparations

In the lead-up to the inauguration at the Capitol, where a mob of rioters disrupted the certification of the Electoral College results this month, roughly 200 New York City police officers traveled to Washington to help with security.


Hundreds of members of the state’s National Guard joined them.


The other appearances

Several other New Yorkers attended the event, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, the former president and secretary of state, who live in Westchester County. Father Leo J. O’Donovan, a priest from Manhattan, delivered the invocation.


Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of Ms. Harris and a student at the Parsons School of Design, trended on social media for her bejeweled tweed coat.


And Sandra Lindsay, a nurse in Queens and the first person in the country to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, was among those highlighted in an evening program after the inauguration.



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