Zohran Mamdani has officially been sworn in as mayor of New York, making him the first Muslim and first person of South Asian descent to hold the position.
Mamdani’s swearing-in took place Thursday moments into the new year at a mostly closed gathering in a historic subway station beneath City Hall. New York Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath, which Mamdani took with his hand on a Quran belonging to his grandparents.
Mamdani’s public inauguration outside City Hall that afternoon featured remarks by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a ceremonial retaking of the oath, this time administered by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — both progressive heroes, just as Mamdani has quickly become.
“I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” he vowed to the crowd that turned out on a blustery New Year’s afternoon.
The 34-year-old assemblymember and democratic socialist upended politics in 2025, from polling at just 1% at the start of his campaign to clinching the Democratic nomination in July and going on to win the November general election. On both occasions, he comfortably beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the establishment heavyweight who ran as an independent after losing the primary.
The millennial mayor’s campaign leaned on social media videos — some of which were filmed in different languages spoken in the city — and one of the largest field operations in the city’s history.
“Over 90,000 of you in this city volunteered for Zohran’s campaign. You knocked on doors, you shared your dreams and your hopes for the future of this city,” Sanders told the crowd. “And in the process, you took on the Democratic establishment, the Republican establishment, the president of the United States and some enormously wealthy oligarchs — and you defeated them in the biggest political upset in modern American history.”
Mamdani campaigned on a platform of affordability that included free and fast buses, freezing the rent for all stabilized tenants, building affordable housing and combating inflation. Opponents and some other political observers have questioned whether the city will be able to afford the price tag to fulfill Mamdani’s ambitious agenda. He says he plans to pay for it by getting lawmakers to increase the state’s corporate tax rate and the income tax for New Yorkers earning more than $1 million. Before moving to Queens at the age of 7, Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, to parents Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia University professor who specializes in colonialism, and Mira Nair, an acclaimed director and producer. Mamdani and Rama Duwaji, his artist wife and first lady, will move from their rent-stabilized apartment in Queens into Gracie Mansion this month.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Zeeshan Aleem is a writer for MS NOW. Sign up for his newsletter. Recommended
