Zohran Mamdani is officially the 112th mayor of New York City.
REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
Zohran Mamdani is officially the mayor of New York City.
The 34-year-old Queens democratic socialist and former Assembly member, elected in November on a campaign promising dramatic economic programs to make New York more affordable, ascended to the highest office in New York City at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. He was sworn in during an intimate ceremony at the old City Hall subway station about three miles south of the revelry in Times Square, where millions watched the New Year’s ball drop.
State Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath of office to Mamdani, who took it with his left hand on a historic Qur’an held by his wife, Rama Duwaji, and borrowed from the collections of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Mamdani is the first Muslim and the first person of South Asian descent to serve as New York City’s mayor.
The historic Qur’an borrowed from Harlem’s Schomburg Center that Mayor Zohran Mamdani used to take the oath of office on Thursday in becoming New York City’s new mayor.Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library.
Mamdani succeeds former Mayor Eric Adams, whose tenure at City Hall lasted four years. Adams’ final act as mayor came at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2025, when he pushed a button that sent the Times Square New Year’s ball on its minute-long downward journey to 2026.
As for the new mayor, Mamdani will take the oath of office again on the steps of City Hall this afternoon at 1 p.m. during a formal inauguration ceremony and block party, where thousands are expected to celebrate. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will administer the oath of office to Mayor Mamdani at the ceremony.
Two other citywide elected officials, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and new City Comptroller Mark Levine, will also be inaugurated at the Thursday afternoon affair.