Mayor Zohran Mamdani rides into City Hall

With the familiar rumble of a subway car rounding a bend, the new mayor entered the station. 

Zohran Mamdani arrived by rail to the long-shuttered stop underneath City Hall Park, stepping off the 6 train at 11:56 p.m. And just after midnight in the new year, the 34-year-old placed his hand on a Quran held by his wife Rama Duwaji and followed state Attorney General Letitia James in saying the oath of office.

“Happy new year to New Yorkers both inside this tunnel and above,” Mamdani said, giving brief remarks. “This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime.”

Mamdani is now New York City’s 112th mayor – a line dating back 361 years to 1665. Few would have thought this moment possible when the third-term Assembly member representing western Queens launched his mayoral campaign in October 2024. He’s a democratic socialist, an immigrant and now, as mayor, holds many “firsts:” Muslim, South Asian, millennial, born in Africa.

It was a simple ceremony – Mamdani was joined by his wife, his parents, key staffers and several friends and family members. Press coverage was limited to just a dozen journalists.

The more elaborate event was yet to come. Thousands of New Yorkers will attend an inauguration ceremony staged on the steps of City Hall at 1 p.m. on New Year’s Day where Mamdani will be sworn in, again, by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

These moments are more for show than a legal necessity – the New York City Charter simply says a mayor’s term commences “on the first day of January” after an election.

But Mamdani also fulfilled the provision in the city’s administrative code requiring anyone elected to take an oath and file it with the city clerk. Mamdani signed a ledger and pulled $9 cash out of his jacket pocket to pay the filing fee. 

“OK, it is now official, Mr. Mayor,” City Clerk Michael McSweeney said. “Congratulations.”

The mayor’s real power derives from the consent of the governed, not the oath. And Mamdani earned that on Election Day eight weeks ago, winning handily after more New Yorkers voted in any mayoral race since 1969.

Mamdani’s choice of venue was steeped in history and symbolism. The City Hall subway station opened in 1904, part of the city’s first line, but it was decommissioned on Dec. 31, 1945 – exactly 80 years ago, during the tenure of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, whom Mamdani has cited as an inspiration. The station remains as a turnaround, its beautiful vaults and glazed tiles visible through the windows of those who know to stay on the 6 train at the end of the line.

Mamdani has promised to change the city’s direction too, after former Mayor Eric Adams’ single term. Mamdani’s big promises to make the city more affordable – with ideas like a rent freeze, fare-free buses and city-run grocery stores in each borough – were part of his appeal. He was a New York City optimist, declaring that a better city is possible despite the enormous pressures he’ll face as mayor leading the nation’s biggest city. 

After taking the oath, Mamdani announced his pick for transportation commissioner, tapping Mike Flynn, a consultant who previously served as the director of capital planning in the Department of Transportation during the Bloomberg administration. 

Ten minutes after stepping off the train, Mamdani walked up the stairs and out of the station, right into City Hall. There were some things he wanted to do, he said.