He called taking the office “the honor and a privilege of a lifetime” after signing the paperwork and paying a $9 filing fee − with exact change − to make it official.
In brief remarks following his oath, Mamdani called the setting “a testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, health and the legacy of our city.” He also announced Mike Flynn as his Department of Transportation Commissioner.
Mamdani, a former state assemblyman from Queens, is the city’s 112th mayor, and the first Muslim and first person of South Asian descent to lead America’s largest city and business and cultural capital.
Zohran Mamdani, was born in Kampala, Uganda, to Indian parents (filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani) and moved to the US at a young age but retains his Ugandan citizenship.
He took the oath on the Quran, making him the first mayor of New York to do so, according to the New York Times. The Times reported Mamdani would use his grandfather’s Quran and one that belonged to Arturo Schomburg, the Black writer and historian for the two ceremonies.
The underground ceremony precedes his public inauguration and a massive block party in the afternoon. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Brooklyn native and fellow democratic socialist, is set to publicly swear in Mamdani outside of City Hall.
Mamdani’s first day will be marked by tens of thousands of Gothamites expected to gather along city streets. His transition team said it would be more public than smaller swearing-in ceremonies, which typically were reserved for 4,000 ticketed guests.
“This inauguration is a celebration of the movement we built, the mandate we won, and the city we are prepared to lead,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani takes over from centrist Democrat Eric Adams, the scandal-scarred former mayor who left office after one term.
Four years ago, Adams took his oath of office in a high-profile ceremony in a crowded Times Square just after the ball dropped to ring in 2022.
Adams, 65, dropped his reelection bid amid corruption investigations targeting him and half a dozen top aides, and allegations of cozying up to the Trump administration − seen as a negative in the heavily Democratic city.
