Mamdani sworn in as city’s first Queens mayor
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Zohran Mamdani was officially sworn in as mayor of New York City on Thursday, becoming the first elected official from Queens to lead City Hall. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
Zohran Mamdani was officially sworn in as the next mayor of New York City on Thursday, becoming the first elected official from Queens to lead the five boroughs from City Hall.
His inauguration was a high water mark for the 34-year-old democratic socialist, who skyrocketed from relative obscurity as a local elected official to an international political phenom who appeared on Thursday to pick up the mantle as the new face of progressivism in American politics.
Mamdani’s ascension to City Hall will be closely watched by New Yorkers across the political spectrum as he attempts to enact an ambitious political agenda in the nation’s largest and most diverse city. He said his mayor’s office “will govern expansively and audaciously.”
“Today begins a new era,” Mamdani said, minutes after being ceremonially sworn in on the steps of City Hall in front of an energized crowd of supporters who weathered frigid temperatures to witness the city’s transition of power.
It was Mamdani’s second swearing in. He was first sworn in just after midnight by Attorney General Letitia James inside the now defunct City Hall subway station.
On Thursday, he was sworn into office on the City Hall steps by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a political hero of Mamdani’s who called the Queens lawmaker’s win the “biggest political upset in modern American history.”
“Running a great campaign was extremely difficult, but governing a city of 8 million people with all of its complexities and all of the problems that Zohran is inheriting will be even harder,” Sanders said. “He needed your help to win the election, now he will need your help to govern.”
In his first official speech as mayor, which ran about a half hour, Mamdani reiterated that he intends to be a mayor for all New Yorkers regardless of whether they were one of the 1.1 million who voted for him or one of the 1 million who voted for someone else.
“If you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor,” he said. “Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you.”
Still, he made it clear he will not give up on the progressive ideals that got him elected.
“We will govern without shame and insecurity, making no apology for what we believe,” he said. “I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being radical.”
“Hear me when I say this, no longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers' lives,” he added. “I have been told that this is the occasion to reset expectations, that I should use this opportunity to encourage the people of New York to ask for little and expect even less. I will do no such thing. The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.”
Mamdani thanked his army of supporters, volunteers and his campaign team, many of whom will now join him in City Hall.
He also briefly acknowledged his predecessor, Eric Adams, who attended Thursday’s inaugural despite his criticisms of the new regime.
But most of Mamdani’s speech was something of a call to action.
“Standing together with the wind of purpose at our backs, we will do something that New Yorkers do better than anyone else, we will set an example for the world,” the mayor said.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who backed Mamdani after his primary victory, called it a “historic day,” witnessing the first true Queens mayor take the mantle as the city’s executive.
“As he spoke of today, a real opportunity to address many of the long-standing issues,” he told the Eagle outside City Hall. “I look forward to the work ahead.”
“Now the real work starts,” he added.
That work will likely include contending with a substantial number of sitting elected officials and business leaders who view Mamdani’s new administration with skepticism.
Among his biggest challenges will be getting the state legislature, the body Mamdani just vacated, behind tax increases to fund his ambitious agenda of free buses and universal healthcare.
One of his allies in the Assembly, Queens State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, also a democratic socialist, will be on the front lines of debates with her colleagues to push Mamdani’s agenda.
Thousands turned up to City Hall on Thursday amid frigid temperatures to watch the swearing in of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. AP Photo/Heather Khalifa
“I serve with a lot of incredible colleagues who understand that these ideas are popular,” she said. “I really have a lot of confidence that we'll be able to work across, not only the democratic socialist electeds to make some of these things happen.”
Mamdani will also need buy-in from the City Council, which includes some allies, but also several who may make his agenda difficult at the city level.
“I’ve spoken with Mayor Mamdani, and he assured me that he is willing to work with the Republican delegation to build a safer city,” said Queens Councilmember Joann Ariola, who is currently the minority leader in the Council, a position she hopes to hold on to in the new year. “That said, there is a saying, ‘Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are,’ and the people Mamdani is surrounding himself with and endorsing lately are downright troubling, to say the least. Actions speak louder than words, and his actions are much more telling than the pledges he made over the phone."
While the work will now begin for the new administration, whose first actions on Thursday following the inauguration included signing three executive orders focused on tenant protections, the mood at City Hall was jovial, despite the frigid temperatures.
“I ask that we consider today an inauguration for each one of us, to the nearly 8.5 million New Yorkers who make up the greatest city on Earth,” said Queens Representative Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez, who kicked off the inauguration. “It is the people of New York City who have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times in New York. We have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity.”
Two city executives who will join Mamdani in governing New York 2026, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and newly elected Comptroller Mark Levine, were also sworn in to office on Thursday during the ceremony.
“How remarkable is it that on these steps today, we have three swearings in, one by leader using a Quran, one by leader using a Christian Bible, and one by leader using a Chumash, or Hebrew Bible,” Levine said. “I am proud, proud to live in a city where this is possible.”
