The midnight ceremony inside the landmark former metro station will precede Mamdani’s public inauguration and a large celebratory block party.
What’s next for New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani?
New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani has won, but what challenges might he face once he takes office?
- Zoran Mamdani was sworn in at midnight by state Attorney General Letitia James inside the defunct Old City Hall subway station, a Romanesque revival landmark.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a fellow democratic socialist, is scheduled to take the oath of office in a public ceremony Thursday afternoon.
- “This inauguration is a celebration of the movement we built, the mission we won, and the city we are ready to lead,” Mamdani said.
Zoran Mamdani was sworn in as New York’s mayor just after midnight on New Year’s Day, after a once-impossible rise to power that shattered the state’s 60-year political dynasty and charmed an enthusiastic President Donald Trump from the White House.
He called signing the papers and paying the $9 application fee in change to be officially sworn in as a “once-in-a-lifetime honor and privilege.”
Surrounded by her family, Mamdani was sworn in by New York State Attorney General Letitia James under the Spanish-tiled arches of the landmark former subway station below City Hall in lower Manhattan.
In his brief remarks after being sworn in, Mamdani called the environment “a testament to the importance of public transportation to the vitality, health and heritage of our city.” He also announced the appointment of Mike Flynn as Secretary of Transportation.
Mamdani, a former state legislator from Queens, is the city’s 112th mayor and the first Muslim and first person of South Asian descent to lead the nation’s largest city and business and cultural center.
According to the New York Times, he based his oath on the Koran, making him the first New York mayor to take the oath. The Times reported that Mamdani will use her grandfather’s Koran and the Koran of Black author and historian Arturo Schomburg in the two ceremonies.
The underground ceremony precedes his public inauguration and a large block party in the afternoon. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a fellow Democratic Socialist from Brooklyn, is scheduled to be sworn in publicly in front of Mandani City Hall.
Tens of thousands of Gothamites are expected to take to the city’s streets on Mamdani’s first day. His transition team said it would be a more public ceremony than the typically small swearing-in ceremony for just 4,000 ticketed guests.
“This inauguration is a celebration of the movement we built, the mission we won, and the city we are ready to lead,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani will replace Eric Adams, a centrist Democrat who resigned after one term marred by scandal.
Four years ago, Adams took the oath of office in a high-profile ceremony in crowded Times Square shortly after the ball dropped on 2022.
Mr. Adams, 65, withdrew his bid for re-election amid corruption investigations targeting him and six of his aides and allegations of collusion with the Trump administration, a move seen as a negative in the Democratic-dominated city.
Mamdani recently won the Nov. 4 general election with more than 1 million votes, defeating former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. His campaign upended local and national politics with ambitious (and critics say impossible) policies to reduce the cost of living through things like a rent freeze on 1 million urban apartments, free buses and free child care.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
