Subway ceremony for New York’s first Muslim mayor
Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City and took the oath of office just after midnight at a historic decommissioned subway station in Manhattan.
The Democrat placed his hand on the Quran as he was sworn in as the first Muslim leader of America’s largest city.
“This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said in a brief speech Thursday.
The private ceremony was performed by his political ally, New York Attorney General Letitia James, at the old City Hall station, one of the city’s original subway stops and known for its striking vaulted ceilings.
In his first speech as mayor, Mamdani said the former subway station was “a testament to the importance of public transportation to the vitality, health and heritage of our city” as he announced the appointment of new Department of Transportation commissioner Mike Flynn.
Mamdani will be re-sworn in more spectacularly on Thursday by Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes, in a public ceremony at City Hall.
Mamdani now embarks on one of the most ruthless assignments in American politics as one of the nation’s most-watched politicians.
In addition to being the city’s first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also the first person of South Asian descent to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations.
In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, the democratic socialist promised to bring transformative change with policies aimed at lowering the cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities.
His platform included free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for nearly one million households, and a city-run pilot grocery store.
But he will also have to face other responsibilities: dealing with garbage, snow and mice, while also being blamed for delays and potholes in the subway.
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and academic and writer Mahmood Mamdani. Her family moved to New York when she was seven, and Mamdani grew up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims were not always welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.
Before seeking public office himself, he worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city and won a state House seat to represent part of Queens in 2020.
Mamdani and her husband, Rama Duwaji, will leave their one-bedroom, rent-stabilized apartment in the outer borough to reside in the palatial mayoral residence in Manhattan.
Mamdani takes over a city on the rise after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has fallen to pre-pandemic lows. The tourists are back. Unemployment, which increased rapidly during the pandemic years, has also returned to pre-Covid levels.
But deep concerns about high prices and rising rents in the city remain.
He will also have to deal with Republican President Donald Trump.
During the mayoral race, Trump threatened to cut federal funding from the city if Mamdani won and considered sending National Guard troops to the city.
But Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House for what ended up being a friendly meeting in November.
“I want him to do a great job, and I’m going to help him do a great job,” Trump said.
Still, given their deep policy disagreements, particularly on immigration, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface.
Mamdani also faces skepticism and opposition from some members of the city’s Jewish community for his criticism of the Israeli government.
The new mayor and his team have spent the weeks since his election victory preparing for the transition, surrounding Mamdani with experienced people who have worked in or alongside city government.
This included convincing the city’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, to remain in her post; This helped calm fears in the business community that the administration might be planning radical changes to police strategy.
