Zohran Mamdani will become New York

Zohran Mamdani will become mayor of New York City when the clock turns to 2026, but the celebrations will last until New Year’s Day.

The Democrat’s team is planning two separate swearing-in ceremonies Thursday: a small, private one with his family in an old subway station around midnight, followed by a large event in the afternoon that will include a public party outside City Hall.

As a new mayor’s term begins immediately with the new year, it has been customary for incoming city leaders to hold two events. Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams held his initial swearing-in in Times Square shortly after the famous ball drop, while Adams’ predecessor, Bill de Blasio, took his first swearing-in at his home in Brooklyn.

For his part, Mamdani will take his initial oath of office at the former City Hall subway station in Manhattan, one of the city’s original stops on its subway system, known for its tiled arches and vaulted ceilings.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a political ally and notable foe of President Donald Trump, will take the oath of office.

TIMOTHY A.CLARY via Getty Images

The former City Hall stop was designed as the flagship station of the city’s first subway line, but was dismantled in 1945. Today, aside from occasional guided historical tours, locals can usually only catch a glimpse of it by staying on the 6 train after its last stop downtown, when it turns north.

The decision to take the oath at the former City Hall subway station reflected his “commitment to the workers who keep our city running every day,” his office said.

Mamdani said the station represents an era in which New York invested in infrastructure aimed at improving people’s lives, an ambition he said his administration intends to carry forward.

On Thursday afternoon, Mamdani will be sworn in again, this time before U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of his political heroes, in a ceremony on the steps of City Hall. It is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. with opening remarks from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another political ally and fellow New Yorker.

In both ceremonies, Mamdani, who will be the city’s first Muslim mayor, will place his hand on the Quran as he takes the oath, marking the first time a New York mayor has used Islam’s sacred text to take the oath.

Mamdani’s transition formed an inaugural committee that includes actor John Turturro, playwright Cole Escola and writer Colson Whitehead, as well as advocates, small business owners and campaign workers who, according to the incoming mayor’s office, have “provided perspective, guidance and cultural sensitivity” for the ceremony.

The public swearing-in will be accompanied by a street party along a stretch of Broadway leading to City Hall. Mamdani’s office expects thousands of people to attend and says there will be performances, music and interfaith elements.

By drawing attention to the history of the mayor’s office, Mamdani’s election also ended up illuminating a problem in record-keeping. A city archivist concluded that Mamdani appears to be the 112th mayor, not the 111th, as was thought before historians pointed out an oversight involving a 17th-century mayor who served twice.

Mamdani has spent recent weeks training staff for his incoming government and made a series of key appointments on Wednesday, hours before he was sworn in.

___

News writer Jennifer Peltz contributed.