A new beginning begins
NEW YORK (AP) — Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City on Thursday, taking on one of the most unforgiving jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s struggling, working class.
Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in at a decommissioned subway station below City Hall shortly after midnight, placing his hand on a Quran as he was sworn in as the city’s first Muslim mayor.
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After working part of the night in his new office, Mamdani returned to City Hall in a taxi around noon Thursday for a grander public inauguration where U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes, was sworn in for the second time.
“Starting today, we will govern expansively and boldly. We may not always succeed, but we will never be accused of lacking the courage to try,” Mamdani told a cheering crowd.
“To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: City Hall will no longer hesitate to use its power to improve the lives of New Yorkers,” he said.
David Dee Delgado via Getty Images
Crowds turned out in the bitter cold for an opening party just south of City Hall on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker tape parades.
Tax the rich
Throughout the ceremony, speakers touched on the theme that led Mamdani to victory in the election: a devotion to using the power of government to help the millions of people struggling with the city’s high cost of living.
Sanders insisted that doing so (in part by raising taxes on the rich) would not be radical.
“In the richest country in the history of the world, making sure people can live in affordable housing is not radical,” he told the crowd. “It’s the right and decent thing to do.”
In her opening remarks, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Mamdani would be a mayor dedicated to the working class.
“It is the people of New York who have chosen historic and ambitious leadership in response to unprecedented and unsustainable times. New York, we have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity for many over loot for the few,” he said.
Mamdani was accompanied on stage by his wife, Rama Duwaji. The previous mayor, Eric Adams, was present, sitting near another former mayor, Bill de Blasio.
Actress Mandy Patinkin, who recently hosted Mamdani to celebrate Hannukah, sang “Over the Rainbow” with children from an elementary school choir. The invocation was given by Imam Khalid Latif, director of the Islamic Center of New York City. Poet Cornelius Eady read an original poem called “Test.”
Bloomberg via Getty Images
In addition to being the city’s first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also the first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations.
Free childcare and bus travel
In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, the democratic socialist promised to bring about transformative change with policies aimed at reducing the cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities. His platform included free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1 million households and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.
But he will also have to face other responsibilities: managing garbage, snow and rats, while being blamed for delays and potholes on the subway.
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. His family moved to New York City when he was 7, and Mamdani grew up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn’t always feel welcome. He became a US citizen in 2018.
He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before seeking public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will leave their rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment in the Outer Borough to take up residence in the stately residence of Manhattan’s mayor.
Mamdani inherits a booming city, after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has fallen to pre-pandemic lows. The tourists are back. Unemployment, which skyrocketed during the pandemic years, has also returned to pre-COVID levels.
However, deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents in the city.
He will also have to deal with Republican President Donald Trump.
TIMOTHY A.CLARY via Getty Images
During the mayoral race, Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from the city if Mamdani won and mulled sending National Guard troops to the city.
But Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House for what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.
“I want him to do a great job and I will help him do it,” Trump said.
Progressives take on Trump
Still, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface, given their deep political disagreements, particularly on immigration.
Several speakers at Thursday’s inauguration criticized the Trump administration’s decision to deport more immigrants and expressed hope that the Mamdani City Council will be an ally for those the president has targeted.
Mamdani also faces skepticism and opposition from some members of the city’s Jewish community for his criticism of Israel’s government.
The new mayor and his team have spent the weeks since his election victory preparing for the transition, surrounding Mamdani with experienced hands who have worked in or alongside the city government.
That included persuading city Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to remain in her position, a move that helped calm fears in the business community that the administration could be planning sweeping changes to policing strategy.