Zohran Mamdani took oath as the Mayor of New York City moments after the clocks struck midnight and the ball dropped in nearby Times Square on Thursday. The Indian-origin politician held a private ceremony at an abandoned subway station below City Hall with only his family and close advisers in attendance.
The oath was administered by state Attorney General Letitia James while Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji held the Quran (a first for NY Mayors) and his parents sat among the audience. The 34-year-old is the first South Asian and Muslim elected to helm the largest city in the US — and its second-youngest leader till date.
A second and far more elaborate ceremony will be held on Thursday afternoon with several thousand supporters and political allies in attendance. The ceremonial inauguration will be held outside City Hall — seat of the New York City government — with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont administering the oath of office to the new Mayor.
Who will attend this event?
Senator Bernie Sanders will administer the ceremonial oath and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is slated to deliver the opening remarks. Both politicians have previously endorsed Mamdani and share many of his ideological stances. His parents – filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani — were present for the private ceremony but it remains unclear whether they will attend the block-party style event.
Mamdani had announced a 48-member inaugural committee last week — comprising a diverse range of artists, activists, organizers, and community leaders. They are also part of the planning committee for his January 1 event and are slated to act as its hosts. Tentative attendees (from within this team) include popular YouTuber and educator Ms Rachel, actor-activist Cynthia Nixon, Indian-American author Kal Penn, actor John Turturro, novelists Colson Whitehead and Min Jin Lee, playwright Cole Escola, comedians Julio Torres and The Kid Mero, Bangladeshi-American advocate Joynal Abedin and numerous others.
Why did he take oath in an old subway station?
The New York Times quoted Mamdani as noting that the Old City Hall Station — first opened in 1904 was one of the 28 original subway stations in New York.
“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. That ambition need not be a memory confined only to our past, nor must it be isolated only to the tunnels beneath City Hall: it will be the purpose of the administration fortunate enough to serve New Yorkers from the building above,” he had explained.
