Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City on Thursday, January 1, in a ceremony where he took his oath of office on the Quran, the Muslim holy book, before New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“It is the greatest honor and privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani declared after assuming office in a ceremony that took place shortly after midnight in the abandoned subway station beneath City Hall Park.
The location was specifically chosen to evoke the city’s ambition. “When the old City Hall station opened in 1904, one of the 28 original stations of the New York City subway, it was a monument to a city that dared to do beautiful and great things to transform the lives of working people,” Mamdani explained.
“This ambition must not be relegated to a mere memory of our past, nor should it remain isolated in the tunnels beneath City Hall; it will be the guiding principle of the administration that will serve New Yorkers from the building above,” he emphasized.
Mamdani is the city’s 112th mayor and the second youngest. He was accompanied at the ceremony by his wife, artist Rama Duwaji, and his mother, filmmaker Mira Nair. There was limited space for attendees and press. A larger, more public ceremony is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, where Mamdani will take the oath of office again, this time before Senator Bernie Sanders.
Mamdani was elected by a wide margin after winning the Democratic primary with a distinctly left-wing platform, a departure from traditional Democratic positions. Among his main campaign promises are free bus transportation, a rent freeze, and free childcare for children up to age five.
