The city of Albany will host its first inaugural ceremony for a New York governor in a dozen years as Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled plans to hold the event at the Empire State Convention Center on Jan. 1.
Hochul will be ceremonially sworn in at 2 p.m. on the first day of the year and will be the first woman to take the oath of office for a full, four-year term.
Hochul was elected to a full term last month, defeating Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin.
The ceremony is the first inaugural event in Albany since 2010, when Democrat Andrew Cuomo was sworn in for his first term. In 2014, Cuomo held an inaugural ceremony in New York City, but scrapped plans for a ceremony in Buffalo following the death of his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo that same day.
Cuomo was sworn in for a third term in 2018 and held the event on Ellis Island in New York City.
Hochul took office in August 2021 following Cuomo's resignation amid allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior.