Zohran Mamdani, originally from India, was sworn in shortly after midnight to become New York’s youngest mayor. Accompanied by his wife Rama Duwaji, mother Mira Nair and father Mahmood Mamdani, Zohran Mamdani took the oath on the Koran of his grandfather State Attorney Letitia James at the abandoned City Hall subway station.
In his first remarks as mayor, Zohran Mamdani wished a happy new year “in and out of the tunnel” and said: “It is truly an honor and a lifetime privilege.
“I can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow as we begin our term. Having just been sworn in as mayor of New York City, I’m doing so here at the old City Hall subway station — a testament to the importance of public transportation to the vitality, health and legacy of our city,” said the New York mayor.
Speaking about the station chosen as the site for his swearing-in ceremony, Zohran Mamdani said: “When Old City Hall Station – one of New York’s original 28 subway stations – first opened in 1904, it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be beautiful while building great things that would change the lives of working people.
“This ambition need not be a memory confined to our past, nor isolated to the tunnels beneath City Hall: it will be fortunate to serve New Yorkers from the building above.”
He concluded his speech by saying, “May the words we have spoken together, the dreams we have dreamed together become the agenda we deliver together,” he said. “New York, this power, is yours. This city belongs to you. Thank you all so much… and I’ll see you later.”
Mamdani will be sworn in again in grander style at a public ceremony at City Hall at 1 p.m. by US Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes. That will be followed by what his office is billing as a public block party on the stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” which is known for its ticker-tape parades.
Zohran Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda to filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, academic and writer. His family moved to New York when he was 7. He became an American citizen in 2018.
He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before running for public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a borough of Queens.
(TATATRANSLATE)YWEST NEW YORK CITY MAYOR(T)ZOHRAN MAMDANI(T)Mayor of New York(T)Public Transit(T)City Hall Subway Station
