Overview
- New York Attorney General Letitia James will administer a private oath just before midnight Jan. 1 at the decommissioned Old City Hall subway station, followed by a 1 p.m. public swearing-in by Sen. Bernie Sanders on the City Hall steps and a Broadway block party requiring RSVPs.
- At 34, the democratic socialist becomes New York City’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor, and the youngest in a century.
- His affordability platform—rent freeze for roughly 1 million stabilized apartments, universal child care, and fare-free buses—confronts a multibillion-dollar budget gap, the need for state cooperation as Gov. Kathy Hochul resists income-tax hikes but signals openness to corporate tax options, and a rent board shaped by outgoing Mayor Eric Adams.
- The transition has drafted a “Trump-Proofing NYC” plan as the city depends on more than $7 billion in federal funds, with a cordial Oval Office meeting tempering rhetoric even as immigration enforcement could become a flashpoint.
- Relations with parts of the Jewish community remain strained, with the Anti-Defamation League pledging close scrutiny and an incoming appointee resigning over past antisemitic social media posts.