Overview
- Shortly after midnight, Mamdani took the oath in the Old City Hall subway station with Attorney General Letitia James presiding, placing his hand on his grandfather’s Koran to become the city’s first Muslim mayor.
- Thousands gathered for a public inauguration at City Hall where Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez participated, and Mamdani delivered a 24-minute address setting out his priorities.
- In his remarks, he centered affordability and reiterated pledges including a rent freeze affecting more than one million apartments, free childcare and buses, and large-scale affordable housing funded by higher taxes on wealthy residents and companies.
- He signaled early governance moves by announcing the appointment of a new transportation chief as he began his four-year term.
- Implementing the agenda faces steep tests, including financing questions, potential City Council and committee roadblocks noted by prior appointments, and a sensitive relationship with President Trump after campaign-era threats contrasted with a later cordial White House meeting.