Mamdani Sworn In as Mayor of New York City, Becoming the City's First Muslim Mayor
Just after midnight on January 1, 2026, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City, New York, in a private ceremony at the old City Hall subway station in Lower Manhattan, with New York Attorney General Letitia James administering the oath. Mamdani, 34, is the city's 112th mayor and its first Muslim mayor, first mayor of South Asian descent and first mayor born in Africa.
Mamdani placed his hand on a Quran for the oath. According to the Associated Press, he used two Qurans: one that had belonged to his grandfather and a pocket-sized copy from the late 18th or early 19th century held by the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center. Mamdani called the moment "the honor and the privilege of a lifetime" and called the station a testament to the importance of public transit to the city.
That afternoon, Mamdani was publicly inaugurated on the steps of City Hall, with Senator Bernie Sanders administering the ceremonial oath and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introducing him, as tens of thousands of supporters celebrated in freezing weather across several Manhattan blocks.
In his inaugural address, Mamdani said, "Today begins a new era." He said his administration would "govern expansively and audaciously" and that City Hall would deliver an agenda of safety, affordability and abundance: universal childcare paid for by taxing the wealthiest few, a rent freeze for rent-stabilized homes, and faster, free buses. "I was elected as a Democratic socialist and I will govern as a Democratic socialist," he said.
On his first day in office, Mamdani signed an executive order revoking all executive orders that his predecessor Eric Adams had issued after Adams was indicted on federal charges in September 2024. The mayor's office announced three housing and tenant executive orders the same day, including reviving the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants and creating two task forces to accelerate housing development, the Land Inventory Fast Track (LIFT) task force and the Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development (SPEED) task force.
Mamdani won the November 4, 2025 election against former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. He became a U.S. citizen in 2018 and previously served in the New York State Assembly representing a Queens district.
Source: New York City Mayor's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于美国纽约州纽约市曼哈顿的纽约市政厅外景，曼达尼在此宣誓就职（资料照片）。Kidfly182 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons；城市固定图库标准图。 / Photo: New York City Hall in Manhattan, New York City, New York, where Mamdani took the oath of office (file photo). Photo by Kidfly182, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; standard image from the GSM city fixed-image library.
