As he rushed between tours and televised briefings, the new mayor also had to contend with a growing political headache: lingering questions over the treatment afforded to his predecessor at the inaugural ceremony the day before.
Mr. de Blasio said he had no qualms about the harsh words directed at former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg by several speakers who stridently criticized Mr. Bloomberg's policies, suggesting that the former mayor had emphasized luxury developments and sports arenas over the interests of working-class and poor New Yorkers.
"I'm very comfortable with all that was done," Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference, hours after a top Bloomberg aide said that Mr. Bloomberg's tenure had been unfairly characterized.
But even as he moved to demonstrate a changed tone at City Hall, Mr. de Blasio found himself dependent on several key holdover appointees from Mr. Bloomberg's staff, including the fire and sanitation commissioners, whom he charged with overseeing the city's storm defenses — a potentially defining moment in the infancy of his administration.
If Mr. de Blasio sounded confident as he defended his inauguration, he was in unfamiliar territory as he checked off the scores of snowplows and salt spreaders mustered against the approaching winter weather, an operation far larger than the tiny political offices he has previously managed. At one point, he confided, "I'll be a lot calmer when the storm system flows out to sea, I'll tell you that much."
There were signs aplenty that the mayor was still becoming accustomed to the trappings and traditions of his new role.
As he swore in William J. Bratton, his new police commissioner, at Police Headquarters, Mr. de Blasio said he was getting used to referring to his wife, Chirlane McCray, as the first lady.
"I find it a little formal," the mayor said with a laugh, "but I'm going with it."
Running through the revised alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules, he lamented that he could no longer drive himself to work in the mornings.
Even Mr. de Blasio's children, accustomed to the spotlight after being featured in his mayoral campaign, received an early lesson in the level of scrutiny that first families must face.
An online message emerged at midday showing Mr. de Blasio's teenage son, Dante, a public school student, responding to a friend who asked him if classes might be canceled on Friday.
"Old man winter will decide," Dante wrote in a message that spread quickly on social media, but that he was trying to "convince my dad." Aides to Mr. de Blasio had no comment, but, later on Thursday, Ms. McCray posted a photo of a shovel to her Twitter account, along with the caption, "What Dante will be doing if he does not go to school tomorrow."
But the most visible change from the Bloomberg era, at least for many everyday New Yorkers, came when the mayor presided over his very first emergency storm briefing — a staple of the job and a widely televised chance for a leader to appear reassuring and in command.
Mr. Bloomberg, a former chief executive, took a no-nonsense approach, delivering clinical instructions in the voice of a father instructing his children.
Mr. de Blasio put his own spin on the genre, opting for a warmer, more personal touch, much in keeping with the populist tone of his campaign.
He referred to his commissioners as "a dream team," declaring they could "take on any storm, anywhere."
He touched on his usual themes of a united city, urging citizens to "look out for your neighbors" and for people who are homeless.
And at one point, barraged by questions about storm preparation, Mr. de Blasio lapsed into a soliloquy with an almost existential tone. "We know that the number of inches may go up or may go down," he said. "We know the winds may be stronger or weaker. But we know we have to be ready."
Back at a nearly deserted City Hall, the mayor's small staff dealt with the more banal logistics of moving into new office space, sorting out phone lines and tracking down Internet passwords.
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