Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as mayor of New York City at Old City Hall Station, New York, US.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City mayor in the first dials of the New Year at the significant City Hall subway station, with his wife Rama Duwaji standing by his side.
Mamdani chose the Old City Hall subway stop, which was decommissioned in the middle of the previous century and can be accessed through only tours a few times in the year.
The subway site, according to his transition team, reflects Mamdani's "commitment to the working people who keep our city running every day."
Through the oath, he pledged to support the Constitution of the United States and the laws of New York. New York State Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath.
The campaign offered some details on the three Qurans he used for his swearing in ceremonies, each holding a meaning rooted in identity and faith.
Mamdani placed his hand on two Qurans during the subway ceremony: his grandfather's Quran and a pocket-sized version that dates back to the late 18th or early 19th century. It is part of the collection at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
That copy of the Quran symbolizes the diversity and reach of the city's Muslims, said Hiba Abid, the library's curator for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.
For a following swearing-in ceremony at City Hall on the first day of the year, Mamdani used both his grandfather's and grandmother's Qurans.
"Happy New Year to New Yorkers, both inside this tunnel and above," said Mamdani, standing beneath a vaulted ceiling with the words City Hall over his head. "This is truly an honor and a privilege of a lifetime."
Mamdani was a pioneering candidate and is expected by many in his city of 8 million -- some with hope, some with trepidation -- to be a disruptive mayor.
The democratic socialist's plans for his first day in office on Thursday nod to his politics and priorities, without straying far from his predecessors with a sober official midnight oath-taking followed by a more celebratory ceremony in the afternoon.
New York law spells out that four-year mayoral terms start on the January 1 after elections. A tradition to hold a small swearing-in just after midnight, the ceremony was observed to avoid any ambiguity about who's in charge of America's most populous city
His midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran marked the first time a mayor of New York City uses Islam's holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.
Zohran Mamdani won the NYC Mayoral election getting 948,202 votes (50.6 per cent), with 83 per cent of the votes in. His victory marked ideological shifts in the United States' political landscape, one that was powered by the working class and youth.
During his speech as victor, he challenged President Donald Trump, as he said, "Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up!" as the crowd cheered.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old former state lawmaker, promised a freeze on rents and free buses and childcare, building a campaign around affordability issues that some have seen as a path forward for his Democratic Party around the country ahead of midterm elections.
After becoming mayor, Mamdani will move from his one-bedroom Astoria apartment, protected from sharp price hikes by the city rent-stabilization program, to Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City mayors on Manhattan's upscale Upper East Side.
(with agency inputs)