UFT members were among the thousands of workers and community activists who lit up Foley Square on Dec. 5, singing, dancing, chanting and carrying candles inscribed with their dreams for a better New York.

A celebration of the end of the Bloomberg years and the beginning of Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s administration, the New Day New York rally also served to remind participants that they’ll need to remain engaged and mobilized if they want to see the changes they voted for on Election Day come to fruition.

Capturing that sentiment, UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the crowd, “We have a new day, but we have work to do.”

The crowd swelled as hundreds of striking fast-food workers and their allies made a dramatic entrance, marching into the square to the beat of a marching band.

New York City Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez welcomed the strikers.

“We are all in this fight together,” Alvarez said. “We have construction workers and teachers on the frontlines with car-wash workers and fast-food workers.”

One of hundreds of UFT members at the demonstration, PS 214 Chapter Leader Virginia Blair, said she had come from Brooklyn to “greet the new mayor with open arms” but also to let him know teachers’ concerns.

“We want a contract, we want to modify the teacher evaluation system, we want to lower class sizes, we want a curriculum that works,” she said.

For Brian Gavin, the chapter leader at Grover Cleveland HS in Queens, the rally was about fairness.

“The city has benefited from our labor and the labor of all the other city workers for years,” Gavin said. “It’s time to reward those workers for all their hard work.”

Parents were also represented, with parent leader Zakiyah Ansari from the Alliance for Quality Education paying homage to Nelson Mandela, who passed away that night at 95.

“‘Education is the greatest weapon to change the world,’” she said, quoting the South African leader, adding, “So let’s go change the world!”