Overview
- Zohran Mamdani, 34, was sworn in at midnight using a Qur’an in the Old City Hall subway station, then held a public inauguration where Bernie Sanders administered a ceremonial oath and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke.
- He is the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor, pledging to govern as a democratic socialist and to prioritize affordability across housing, transit and childcare.
- Within hours, he rescinded multiple Eric Adams–era executive orders and announced housing and tenant-focused actions, including reviving a tenant protection office and creating task forces.
- His platform includes a rent freeze affecting roughly 1 million stabilized apartments, free buses, free universal childcare and pilot city-run groceries, with costs reported around $10 billion and plans to seek higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations.
- Key hurdles include earlier Adams appointments to the Rent Guidelines Board, skepticism from Jewish leaders citing an ADL report on some appointees, and criticism from conservative figures including President Donald Trump, who has threatened to withhold federal funds.