Zohran Mamdani took the oath of office as New York City’s mayor shortly after midnight, marking the start of his tenure with a low-key, private ceremony held inside a long-shuttered beaux-arts subway station. The unusual setting offered a quiet opening act before a full day of public events, including a formal swearing-in ceremony and a block party planned outside City Hall later in the day.
The 34-year-old was administered the oath by New York Attorney General Letitia James, with only close family present for the late-night moment. Standing beside Mamdani were his wife, Rama Duwaji, along with his parents, acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, a longtime professor of African studies at Columbia University, underscoring the intimate tone of the ceremony that preceded the city’s public celebrations.
Reflecting on the ceremony, Mamdani stated, “This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime.”
“I cannot wait to see everyone tomorrow as we begin our term,” he added.
“After just having taken my oath to become the mayor of the city of New York, I do so also here in the old City Hall subway station – a testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health, the legacy of our city,” Mamdani said.
Soon after, Mamdani introduced Mike Flynn as New York City’s new transportation commissioner, bringing on board a veteran city planner to lead one of the administration’s most closely watched portfolios. The mayor said his goal was to turn the city’s public transit system into “the envy of the world,” setting an ambitious tone for the appointment.
Flynn, in brief remarks, called the role the “job of a lifetime,” drawing applause from those gathered.
Wrapping up the moment, Mamdani thanked the audience and, prompting laughter, said, “Thank you all so much … and I will see you later,” before heading back up the broad subway staircase where he had just taken the oath, trailed by family members and attendees.
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The late-night ceremony also drew outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, who had initially stopped short of confirming his attendance. He later said he decided to come because he’d “like to be there to show the smooth, peaceful transition of power,” signaling a public handoff between the two administrations.
A first in NYC history
In a moment that reflected his Muslim faith, Mamdani took the oath of office on a Qur’an, becoming the first New York City mayor to be sworn in using Islam’s holiest book. The midnight ceremony saw him place his hand on two Qur’ans, one passed down from his grandfather and another that once belonged to Arturo Schomburg, the Black writer and historian. The second volume was lent by the New York Public Library, according to the New York Times.
The gathering also included a wide cross-section of New Yorkers chosen by Mamdani for his inaugural committee. Among them were actor John Turturro, playwright Cole Escola and writer Colson Whitehead, alongside advocates, small business owners and campaign workers. The incoming mayor’s office said the group was invited because they had “provided perspective, guidance and cultural sensibility” in shaping the ceremony.
The private swearing-in will give way to a larger public event at 1 pm, where Mamdani is set to be introduced by his political ally, Bronx Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The formal oath at that ceremony will be administered by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Why City Hall Station mattered
According to his office, the decision to begin his mayoralty at the old City Hall subway station was deliberate, reflecting Mamdani’s “commitment to the working people who keep our city running every day.”
“When Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 – one of New York’s 28 original subway stations – it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working people’s lives,” Mamdani told in a statement, as quoted by The Guardian. “That ambition need not be a memory confined only to our past.”
The celebrations cap a striking ascent to power in the nation’s largest city, one that has reshaped New York’s political landscape. Mamdani entered the race as a relative unknown, and his victory also marked a breakthrough moment for the Democratic Socialist movement, which he represents while running on the Democratic ticket.
Early indications of his electoral strength surfaced months earlier, ahead of a bruising primary that ended with Mamdani defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo later mounted an independent bid, while Eric Adams, facing scrutiny from federal prosecutors at the time, opted not to pursue the Democratic nomination.
By April, Mamdani was still well behind, trailing Cuomo by a wide margin of 36% to 64%. That gap began to close as his campaign gained momentum, fueled by a sharp social media strategy and an expansive grassroots push that appeared to mobilize first-time voters grappling with the rising cost of living in a post-pandemic New York.
A campaign that felt everywhere
His presence was hard to ignore. The campaign bounced across TikTok, filled Instagram stories, and showed up on storefronts and street corners across the city. Rather than a conventional “Vote For Me” appeal, the message felt closer to a collective call: Hey! This is our city. Let’s fix it!
And there was plenty to fix. The race unfolded against the backdrop of a housing crunch, surging prices, and a widening gap between political institutions and the people they claim to serve.
“A New York You Can Afford” became Mamdani’s rallying cry in a deeply polarized national political climate. The campaign mirrored the energy he promised to bring to City Hall, spirited, insurgent, and driven by a clear sense of purpose. “Freeze Rent”, “Childcare for All”, and “Fast & Free Buses” were among the demands he amplified, cutting through the noise with striking clarity.
Even the campaign’s visual language broke from tradition. Mamdani’s branding did not resemble standard political graphics. Instead, it felt native to the city itself, multilingual, electric, and a little unruly. The vivid blue backdrop paired with hot orange and sunlight yellow lettering set it apart from sanitized, conventional designs, evoking the bold punch of superhero logos and capturing the pulse of the Big Apple in ways rival campaigns had missed.
That visual sensibility was also shaped by Mamdani’s own ties to Bollywood, which lent the campaign a distinctly cinematic touch. The campaign was read less like traditional political ads and more like pieces of everyday community life, pinned to deli refrigerators, taped to pharmacy windows, displayed on apartment balconies, or tacked onto neighborhood bulletin boards.
READ: Zohran Mamdani elected New York’s first Indian American, Muslim mayor (November 5, 2025)
Each poster featured Mamdani’s smiling portrait front and center, paired with the straightforward message, “Zohran for New York City,” an approach that emphasized accessibility over polish. Language was central to the design strategy. Campaign materials appeared in Spanish, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English, among others, reflecting the city’s linguistic richness and helping the campaign feel grounded in the neighborhoods it sought to represent.
By communicating in the languages people use in daily life, the visuals became instantly familiar and expanded the campaign’s reach, allowing supporters to see themselves in the movement. In a city built by generations of immigrants, that emphasis on inclusion aligned with Mamdani’s vocal opposition to ICE raids, reinforcing a broader message around safety, dignity, and belonging.
A campaign spokesperson credited the win to Mamdani “being everywhere all of the time,” pointing to an operation that blended constant visibility with ground-level organizing. More than 10,000 volunteers fanned out across the city, knocking on over 100,000 doors, while the campaign hammered home a platform centered on affordability.
That agenda included calls for rent freezes, free metro transport, and city-run grocery stores, alongside a proposal to create a department of community safety that would invest in mental health programs across the city. Together, the spokesperson said, the ideas and the organizing helped turn enthusiasm into votes.
Victory speech and a Bollywood finish
Mamdani in his victory speech, had stated, “In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light. Here, we believe in standing up for those we love, whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many Black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall. Your struggle is ours, too.”
As he went on saying, “New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant.”
His victory speech had ended with a Bollywood masala. He closed his speech with closing his victory speech with the iconic “Dhoom Machale” track, a moment that lit up social media.