Democrat Zohran Mamdani officially became mayor of New York City just after midnight on Thursday – the first Muslim mayor of the United Nations’ largest city.
Mamdani took oath in a small ceremony with his family at a historic, decommissioned subway station in Manhattan. The event was administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a political ally.
The ceremony was unique also because Mamdani placed his hand on two Qurans – one of which belonged to his grandfather, and another from the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture. The library’s Quran is believed to have been made in Ottoman Syria in the 1800s, the library’s system says.
“This is truly the honour and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said, calling the ornate station, which was closed in 1945, “a testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health, and the legacy of our city”.
He will be sworn-in again later in the day in a public ceremony at City Hall by US Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes. Mamdani said the block party was open to “everyone”, but that 4,000 people had been formally invited.
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The new mayor – also the first of South Asian descent to take on the role – will be one of the most-watched politicians in the country as he pushes his ambitious agenda for the city, that includes affordable housing and living, free childcare, free buses, a rent freeze for about one million households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stories.
Born in Africa, Mamdani, 34, is the city’s youngest mayor in generations. He is son of filmmaker Mira Nair, and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. Having moved to New York with his family when he was 7, Mamdani became an American citizen in 2018.
He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before he sought public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will depart their one-bedroom, rent-stabilised apartment in the outer borough to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan.
In his new role, Mamdani also faces some opposition by US President Donald Trump, who had previously threatened to withhold federal funding if Mamdani won, but later warmed up when the two met face-to-face in the White House, with Trump saying he wants Mamdani “to do a great job” and will “help him do a great job”.
Still, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface, given their deep policy disagreements, particularly over immigration.
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