Democrat Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York on Thursday, vowing during a public swearing-in on the steps of City Hall to enact an aggressive program to make the nation’s largest city more affordable for working people.
Mamdani, a member of his party’s left-wing Democratic Socialist faction, was elected last November in a landslide victory that could influence this year’s midterm elections that will determine control of the US Congress.
Some Democrats have embraced his style, while Republicans paint him as a misfit on the national political stage. The 34-year-old campaigned heavily on cost-of-living issues and has been sharply critical of Republican President Donald Trump, whose popularity has fallen over the past year amid economic concerns.
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Many of New York’s 8 million residents — some with hope, some with trepidation — expect him to be a disruptive political force. In a speech following his public swearing-in, Mamdani touted key campaign promises of universal childcare, affordable rent and free bus service.
“We will be accountable to all New Yorkers, not to any billionaire or oligarch who thinks they can buy our democracy,” he said. “I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”
Crowd chants “tax the rich”
Mamdani’s inauguration program included remarks by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic Socialists in the vanguard of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Sanders, whom Mamdani calls his inspiration, defended Mamdani’s agenda.
“Making sure people can live in affordable housing is not radical,” Sanders said. “It is the right and decent thing to do.
The crowd of several thousand cheered loudly as Sanders called on America’s millionaires and billionaires to pay more in taxes and broke into chants of “tax the rich.”
Even in temperatures well below freezing, the city set up a viewing area along Broadway to allow thousands more to watch the ceremony live, which included musical performances.
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Mae Hardman-Hill, 27, volunteered for Mamdani’s campaign and said she felt his political momentum was growing.
“I’m a native New Yorker. I’ve watched a city like yours become less and less accessible, less and less livable,” Hardman-Hill said. “I’m really excited for… ordinary people to get some energy back.
Before a public ceremony, Mamdani was privately sworn in as mayor of New York in the first minutes of the new year on Thursday at the historic City Hall subway station, which was decommissioned decades ago and is only accessible a few times a year via guided tours.
Reflecting his Muslim faith, he used the Koran, Islam’s holiest book, for his oath of office for the first time with the mayor of New York.
Republicans shot down Mamdani
Hours after Mamdani took office, a leading group tasked with electing Republicans to the US House of Representatives sought to portray him as a “radical socialist.”
“Every time Mamdani opens his mouth or swipes his pen, he will tattoo the failures of the Democratic Party on every House Democrat voters will face in 2026,” spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement that signaled the significant role Mamdani is likely to play on the national campaign stage. Mamdani, a former state lawmaker, has promised a rent freeze and free buses and child care, building a campaign around issues of affordability that some saw as a way forward for the Democratic Party across the country ahead of the November election.
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Dean Fuleihan, the incoming deputy mayor, told the Financial Times that Mamdani would push ahead with plans to raise taxes on millionaires to pay for his campaign promises and balance New York’s budget. He added that he doesn’t expect wealthy people to leave the city as a result of potentially higher taxes. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she opposes raising personal income taxes but is considering raising corporate taxes to pay for a potential budget shortfall amid federal cuts.
In one early reversal, Mamdani said Wednesday he would no longer seek to end mayoral control of New York’s public school system, the largest in the US, and appointed veteran educator Kamar Samuels as chancellor.
Mamdani inspired a record turnout of more than 2 million voters and won 50% of the vote in November, nearly 10 points ahead of independent Andrew Cuomo and a wide margin over Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Inauguration of a new era
Ugandan-born Mamdani has been a vocal critic of Trump on issues such as immigration, and said his disagreements with the president were numerous after a warm meeting at the White House.
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Mamdani has raised $2.6 million for transition and celebrations from nearly 30,000 contributors, more than any other mayor on record this century, in both total and individual donations, according to official campaign filings, which are a release of inaugural spending dating back to Michael Bloomberg’s first term in 2001.
As mayor, Mamdani will move from his one-bedroom Astoria apartment, protected from skyrocketing price increases by the city’s rent stabilization program, to Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York’s mayors on Manhattan’s posh Upper East Side. Bankers and others in New York, the nation’s financial capital, have expressed concerns about Mamdani, but since his election, many have explored how to work with him.
