By AFP
January 1, 2026
Zohran Mamdani was sworn into office by New York Attorney General Letitia James (L) alongside his wife Rama Duwaji - Copyright POOL/AFP Amir Hamja
Ben Turner
Zohran Mamdani, the young star of the US left, started his first day as New York mayor on Thursday for a term sure to see him cross swords with President Donald Trump.
The 34-year-old Democrat — virtually unknown a year ago — was officially sworn in as mayor of the largest city in the United States just past midnight as New Yorkers rang in the new year.
New York’s first Muslim mayor took the oath of office during a private ceremony at a decommissioned subway stop under City Hall.
Later on Thursday, Mamdani is scheduled to take part in a larger, ceremonial inauguration with speeches from left-wing allies Senator Bernie Sanders and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Around 4,000 ticketed guests are expected to attend the event outside City Hall. Mamdani’s team has also organized a block party that it says will enable tens of thousands of people to watch the ceremony at streetside viewing areas along Broadway.
“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani told reporters after taking the official oath in the first minutes of New Year’s Day.
– Ambitious agenda –
But it remains to be seen if Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, can deliver on his ambitious agenda, which envisions rent freezes, universal childcare and free public buses.
Once an election is over, “symbolism only goes so far with voters. Results begin to matter a whole lot more,” New York University lecturer John Kane said.
How Trump behaves could be decisive.
The Republican, himself a New Yorker, has repeatedly criticized Mamdani, but the pair held surprisingly cordial talks at the White House in November.
Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst and professor at Columbia University, said the meeting “couldn’t have gone better from Mamdani’s perspective.”
But he warned their relationship could quickly sour.
One flashpoint might be immigration raids as Trump wages an expanding crackdown on migrants across the United States.
Mamdani has vowed to protect immigrant communities.
Before the November vote, the president also threatened to slash federal funding for New York if it picked Mamdani, whom he called a “communist lunatic.”
The mayor has said he believes Trump is a fascist.
– New occupant of mayoral mansion –
Mamdani’s private swearing-in to start his four-year term was performed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully prosecuted Trump for fraud.
In a first for the city, Mamdani is using several Korans to be sworn in as mayor — two from his family and one that belonged to Puerto Rico-born Black writer Arturo Schomburg, The New York Times reported.
The new job comes with a change of address as he swaps his rent-controlled apartment in the borough of Queens for Gracie Mansion, the luxurious mayor’s residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Some had wondered if he would move to the official mansion given his campaigning on affordability issues. Mamdani said he was doing so mainly for security reasons.
Born in Uganda to a family of Indian origin, Mamdani moved to New York at age seven and enjoyed an elite upbringing with only a relatively brief stint in politics, becoming a member of the New York State Assembly before being elected mayor.
Compensating for his inexperience, he is surrounding himself with seasoned aides recruited from past mayoral administrations and former US president Joe Biden’s government.
Mamdani has also opened dialogue with business leaders, some of whom predicted a massive exodus of wealthy New Yorkers if he won. Real estate leaders have debunked those claims.
As a defender of Palestinian rights, he will have to reassure the city’s Jewish community — the largest in the US — of his inclusive leadership.
Recently, one of his hires resigned after it was revealed she had posted antisemitic tweets years ago.
‘Welcome to a New Era for NYC’: Zohran Mamdani Sworn In as New York City Mayor
“This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” the new mayor said.
Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alongside his wife Rama Duwaji, in the former City Hall subway station on January 1, 2026.
(Photo by Amir Hamja-Pool/Getty Images)
Jake Johnson
Jan 01, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City’s mayor early Thursday inside an abandoned subway station, capping off the rise to power of a former state assembly member whose laser focus on affordability, willingness to challenge establishment corruption, and adept use of social media inspired the electorate—including many previous nonvoters.
Mamdani’s choice of location for the swearing-in ceremony, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, symbolized his commitment to restoring a city “that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working people’s lives,” the mayor said in a statement.
Mamdani Inauguration Set for Site Befitting Public Transit Champion
Mamdani Taps ‘Unafraid and Unbought’ Julie Su as First NYC Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice
During his campaign, Mamdani pledged to pursue a number of ambitious changes that he and his team will now begin the work of trying to implement, from fast and free buses to a $30 minimum wage to universal childcare—an agenda that would be funded by higher taxes on large corporations and the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers.
“Happy New Year to New Yorkers both inside this tunnel and above,” Mamdani said in brief remarks at the ceremony. “This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime.”
Much of Mamdani’s agenda would require action from the city legislature. But in the weeks leading up to his swearing-in, members of Mamdani’s team scoured city statutes looking for ways Mamdani could use his mayoral authority to lower prices quickly.
In an interview with Vox earlier this week, Mamdani said that enacting his agenda is “not just critically important because you’re fulfilling what animated so many to engage with the campaign, to support the campaign, but also because of the impact it can have on New Yorkers’ lives.”
“There’s a lot of politics where it feels like it’s a contest around narrative, that when you win something, it’s just for the story that you can tell of what you won, but so many working people can’t feel that victory in their lives,” he said. “The point of a rent freeze is you feel it every first of the month. The point of a fast and free bus is you feel it every day when you’re waiting for a bus that sometimes never comes. The point of universal child care is so that you don’t have to pay $22,500 a year for a single toddler.”
Prior to Thursday’s ceremony, former Democratic Mayor Eric Adams spent his final hours on a veto spree, blocking 19 bills including worker-protection legislation.
City & State reported that “among the 19 pieces of legislation that received a last-minute veto was a bill that would expand a cap on street vending licenses, a bill that aims to protect ride-hailing drivers from unjust deactivations from their apps, a bill that would prohibit federal immigration authorities from keeping an office at Rikers Island, and a bill that would grant the Civilian Complaint Review Board direct access to police body-cam footage.”
Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said in a statement that “Mayor Adams’ last stand to steal protections from workers can’t dampen our hope for a better New York City under the leadership of Zohran Mamdani... and his pro-worker appointees, including Julie Su.”
“This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” the new mayor said.
Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alongside his wife Rama Duwaji, in the former City Hall subway station on January 1, 2026.
(Photo by Amir Hamja-Pool/Getty Images)
Jake Johnson
Jan 01, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City’s mayor early Thursday inside an abandoned subway station, capping off the rise to power of a former state assembly member whose laser focus on affordability, willingness to challenge establishment corruption, and adept use of social media inspired the electorate—including many previous nonvoters.
Mamdani’s choice of location for the swearing-in ceremony, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, symbolized his commitment to restoring a city “that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working people’s lives,” the mayor said in a statement.
Mamdani Inauguration Set for Site Befitting Public Transit Champion
Mamdani Taps ‘Unafraid and Unbought’ Julie Su as First NYC Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice
During his campaign, Mamdani pledged to pursue a number of ambitious changes that he and his team will now begin the work of trying to implement, from fast and free buses to a $30 minimum wage to universal childcare—an agenda that would be funded by higher taxes on large corporations and the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers.
“Happy New Year to New Yorkers both inside this tunnel and above,” Mamdani said in brief remarks at the ceremony. “This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime.”
Much of Mamdani’s agenda would require action from the city legislature. But in the weeks leading up to his swearing-in, members of Mamdani’s team scoured city statutes looking for ways Mamdani could use his mayoral authority to lower prices quickly.
In an interview with Vox earlier this week, Mamdani said that enacting his agenda is “not just critically important because you’re fulfilling what animated so many to engage with the campaign, to support the campaign, but also because of the impact it can have on New Yorkers’ lives.”
“There’s a lot of politics where it feels like it’s a contest around narrative, that when you win something, it’s just for the story that you can tell of what you won, but so many working people can’t feel that victory in their lives,” he said. “The point of a rent freeze is you feel it every first of the month. The point of a fast and free bus is you feel it every day when you’re waiting for a bus that sometimes never comes. The point of universal child care is so that you don’t have to pay $22,500 a year for a single toddler.”
Prior to Thursday’s ceremony, former Democratic Mayor Eric Adams spent his final hours on a veto spree, blocking 19 bills including worker-protection legislation.
City & State reported that “among the 19 pieces of legislation that received a last-minute veto was a bill that would expand a cap on street vending licenses, a bill that aims to protect ride-hailing drivers from unjust deactivations from their apps, a bill that would prohibit federal immigration authorities from keeping an office at Rikers Island, and a bill that would grant the Civilian Complaint Review Board direct access to police body-cam footage.”
Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said in a statement that “Mayor Adams’ last stand to steal protections from workers can’t dampen our hope for a better New York City under the leadership of Zohran Mamdani... and his pro-worker appointees, including Julie Su.”
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