Overview
- Zohran Mamdani took a private midnight oath at the Old City Hall subway station on a Quran administered by Attorney General Letitia James, then held a public City Hall ceremony where Senator Bernie Sanders swore him in after remarks by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
- At 34, he becomes New York City’s first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian descent, the first born in Africa, and the youngest in more than a century.
- On day one, he signed executive orders aimed at the housing crisis and rescinded several late-term directives from former Mayor Eric Adams, with his office framing the move as a reset for the new administration.
- He pledged to govern as a democratic socialist with goals such as a rent freeze for stabilized units, free buses, universal childcare, and city-run grocery pilots, financed by higher taxes on the wealthiest.
- Early reactions included sharp criticism from conservative figures over his ideology and use of the Quran, while practical hurdles loom in state cooperation, Governor Kathy Hochul’s resistance to income tax hikes, and constraints like the Rent Guidelines Board.