Zohran Mamdani was sworn in Thursday as New York City’s 112th mayor, marking a historic moment as the city’s first Muslim mayor and one of its youngest leaders at age 34. The democratic socialist formally assumed office just after midnight in a private ceremony and later used his public inauguration speech to outline an ambitious, left-leaning vision centered on affordability, public services and expansive government action.
New York Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath shortly after the New Year began in the long-closed original City Hall subway station. Mamdani placed his hands on two Qurans: one from his grandfather and another from the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, believed to date back to the 1800s. He paid a required $9 fee and signed the city ledger, formally becoming mayor of the nation’s largest city.
Mamdani said after he was sworn in that “this is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” and described the ornate, decommissioned station as “a testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health and the legacy of our city.”
Hours later, spectators gathered outside City Hall for the public inauguration. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont delivered a ceremonial oath, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York offered opening remarks. The event also featured performances by Grammy-winning singer Lucy Dacus, actor Mandy Patinkin and New York City schoolchildren. Addressing the crowd, Mamdani said: “I was elected as a Democratic socialist and I will govern as a Democratic socialist,” he said, promising an aggressive approach to lowering costs and expanding city services. “We will govern expansively and audaciously. No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.”
Sanders echoed that message, arguing that policies aimed at lowering housing, food and child care costs are mainstream, not extreme. “Demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes is not radical. It is exactly the right thing to do.” Ocasio-Cortez suggested that New York could become a testing ground for progressive policies nationwide. “If we can make it here,” she said, “we can make it anywhere.”
Mamdani’s election last year capped a crowded race in which he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo running as an independent and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. During the campaign, he faced skepticism over his experience and the feasibility of his proposals, and he struck a more moderate tone on public safety, pledging to retain Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Throughout his remarks, Mamdani emphasized unity, saying he stood with both those who supported him and those who did not. The new mayor ran on a platform focused on affordability, including freezing rents for certain apartments, eliminating bus fares and making child care free and universal for young children. He has said much of the funding would come from higher taxes on New Yorkers earning more than $1 million annually — a move that would require approval from state lawmakers. While legislative Democrats have shown openness to such measures, Gov. Kathy Hochul has consistently opposed raising taxes, signaling instead that she prefers alternative revenue sources.
Following the ceremony, Mamdani joined supporters at an Inauguration Day block party along the Canyon of Heroes, the Broadway corridor known for ticker-tape parades. Tens of thousands were expected to attend, far beyond the roughly 4,000 invited to the formal event. Mamdani had said ahead of the festivities: “We wanted to ensure that as we celebrated the beginning of our administration, it was a celebration that was not simply for the typical people who would be invited to an inauguration, but in fact, for everyone. This is not my success. It’s our success. It’s not my administration. It’s our administration. Similarly, it’s not my inauguration. It’s for all of us.”
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