{"id":88246,"date":"2026-01-03T17:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T17:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88246\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T17:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T17:55:09","slug":"french-tourists-didnt-believe-the-young-guy-on-the-subway-was-new-york-citys-new-mayor-so-he-held-up-the-newspaper-to-prove-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88246\/","title":{"rendered":"French tourists didn’t believe the young guy on the subway was New York City’s new mayor, so he held up the newspaper to prove it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Less than 24 hours after throngs of ecstatic supporters poured into Manhattan for his\u00a0history-making inauguration<\/a>, Zohran Mamdani began his first full day of work with a routine familiar to many New Yorkers: trudging to the subway from a cramped apartment.<\/p>\n

Bundled against the frigid temperature and seemingly fighting off a cold, he set out Friday morning from the one-bedroom apartment in Queens that he shares with his wife. But unlike most commuters, Mamdani\u2019s trip was documented by a photo and video crew, and periodically interrupted by neighbors wishing him luck.<\/p>\n

The\u00a034-year-old democratic socialist<\/a>, whose victory was hailed as a watershed moment for the progressive movement, has now begun the task of running the nation\u2019s largest city: signing orders, announcing appointments, facing questions from the press \u2014 and answering for some of the actions he took in his first hours.<\/p>\n

But first, the symbolism-laden day one commute.<\/p>\n

Flanked by security guards and a small clutch of aides on a Manhattan-bound train, he agreed to several selfies with wide-eyed riders, then moved to a corner seat of the train to review his briefing materials.<\/p>\n

When a pair of French tourists, confused by the hubbub, approached Mamdani, he introduced himself as \u201cthe new mayor of New York.\u201d They seemed doubtful. He held up the morning\u2019s copy of the New York Daily News, featuring his smiling face, as proof.<\/p>\n

Mamdani, a Democrat, is hardly alone among city mayors in using the transit system to communicate relatability. His predecessor, Eric Adams, also rode the subway on his first day, and both Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg made a habit out of it, particularly when seeking to make a political point.<\/p>\n

Within minutes of Mamdani entering City Hall, the\u00a0images<\/a>\u00a0of him riding public transit had lit up social media.<\/p>\n

If the ride served as a well-timed photo-op, it also seemed to reflect Mamdani\u2019s pledge, made in his\u00a0inaugural speech<\/a>, to ensure his \u201cgovernment looks and lives like the people it represents.\u201d<\/p>\n

His other early actions have also seemed to underscore that priority.<\/p>\n

After centering much of his campaign on making rent cheaper for New Yorkers, Mamdani raced from his inauguration ceremony Thursday to a Brooklyn apartment building lobby, drawing boisterous cheers from the tenants union as he pledged that the city would ramp up an ongoing legal fight against the allegedly negligent landlord.<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s next action, meanwhile, showed the unusual scrutiny faced by his nascent administration, particularly around his criticism of\u00a0Israel and outspoken support for the Palestinian cause.<\/a><\/p>\n

In an effort to give his government a \u201cclean slate,\u201d he revoked a slate of executive orders issued by Adams late in his term, including two related to Israel: one that officially adopted a\u00a0contentious definition<\/a>\u00a0of antisemitism that includes certain criticism of Israel, and another\u00a0barring city agencies<\/a>\u00a0and employees from boycotting or divesting from the country.<\/p>\n

The move drew swift backlash from some Jewish groups, including allegations from the Israeli government\u00a0posted to social media<\/a>\u00a0that Mamdani had poured \u201cantisemitic gasoline on an open fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a journalist on Friday asked about the revoked orders, Mamdani read from prepared remarks, promising his administration would be \u201crelentless in its effort to combat hate and division.\u201d He noted that he had left in place the Mayor\u2019s Office to Combat Antisemitism.<\/p>\n

Mamdani also announced the creation of a \u201cmass engagement\u201d office, which he said would continue the work his\u00a0campaign\u2019s field operation<\/a>\u00a0did to bring more New Yorkers into the political fold.<\/p>\n

Ringed by supporters and passersby who stood several rows deep, phones in the air, to catch a glimpse of the new mayor, Mamdani then acknowledged the weight of the current moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an opportunity where New Yorkers are allowing themselves to believe in the possibility of city government once again,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is not a belief that will sustain itself in the absence of action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also on Mamdani\u2019s to-do list: Moving to the mayor\u2019s official residence, a stately mansion in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, before the lease on his Queens apartment ends later this month.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Less than 24 hours after throngs of ecstatic supporters poured into Manhattan for his\u00a0history-making inauguration, Zohran Mamdani began…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,56,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-88246","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-city-news","12":"tag-ny","13":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}