Mamdani Sworn In as New York City Mayor

Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City’s mayor just past midnight on Thursday, becoming the first Muslim, South Asian, and Africa-born leader of the nation’s largest city.

Mamdani’s democratic socialist platform, promising to tackle affordability, led him to the office at just 34 years old.

Mamdani’s agenda encompasses free child care, free buses, rent freezes for about 1 million households, and pilot city-run grocery stores, aimed at lowering living expenses.

“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said in his brief speech during the private ceremony, which was administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The oath-taking took place at the Old City Hall station, one of the city’s first subway stops and known for its arched ceilings.

During his first speech as mayor, Mamdani called the station a “testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health, and the legacy of our city.”

Mamdani used the opportunity to introduce a new Department of Transportation commissioner, Mike Flynn.

“It is an honor to have Mike here alongside me as we embark on an administration that will take seriously the responsibility and the opportunity we have to make this streetscape and the public transit of the city we call home the envy of the world,” Mamdani said as Flynn stood beside him.

Born in Kampala, Uganda, to filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, Mandami relocated to New York at age 7 and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2018.

Mamdani has previously worked on Democratic campaigns and secured a state Assembly seat in Queens in 2020. He and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will move from a rent-stabilized apartment to Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence.

He beat out independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa for the position.

Since being elected, Mamdani has reaffirmed promises to freeze rents on regulated units, while upholding sanctuary city protections for illegal immigrants and stopping sweeps of homeless encampments.

President Donald Trump once warned that Mamdani’s election as mayor would be “very bad” for New Yorkers, but changed his tone as he hosted the mayor-elect at the White House in November.

“We had a meeting today that actually surprised me,” Trump said. “I expect to be helping him, not hurting him—a big help, because I want New York City to be great.”

Some members of the Jewish community have reservations regarding Mamdani’s critiques of Israel’s government.

Mamdani’s team includes Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, as well as Ramzi Kassem, who will be his chief counsel. Kassem—who has served as lead counsel for al-Qaeda member and Osama bin Laden associate Ahmed al-Darbi, who aided the 2002 attack on French oil tanker MV Limburg off Yemen—was formerly a senior immigration policy adviser for the Biden White House.

A public swearing-in event was held on Jan. 1 with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) officiating, followed by a Broadway block party on the “Canyon of Heroes” from Liberty to Murray Street, where more than 200 black granite plaques list every single ticker-tape parade in New York City history.

Mamdani’s inaugural address appealed to workers and said he is interested in more public investment.

“Here, where the language of the New Deal was born, we will return the vast resources of this city to the workers who call it home,” he said outside of City Hall. “Not only will we make it possible for every New Yorker to afford a life they love once again—we will overcome the isolation that too many feel, and connect the people of this city to one another.”

The new mayor called out what he said were crowded classrooms, lagging wages, and flaws in public infrastructure. Underscoring his socialist inclinations, Mamdani positioned his administration as following in the footsteps of former Mayor Bill De Blasio and his interest in ending inequality.

“We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism,” he said. “If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.