Mamdani pledges to “govern as a democratic socialist” for every construction worker, halal cart vendor and spice cook in New York

Mamdani, a Democrat, took the oath of office in a disused subway station beneath City Hall just after midnight, placing his hand on a Koran as he was sworn in as the city’s first Muslim mayor.

After working part of the night in his new office, Mamdani returned to City Hall in a taxi around noon Thursday for a public grand opening at which 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.

Crowds gathered in the bitter cold for an inauguration party just south of City Hall, in a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker tape parades.

Mamdani wasted no time getting to work after the event.

He revoked several executive orders issued by the previous administration since September 26, 2024, when federal authorities announced the former Mayor Eric Adams had been indicted on corruption charges, which were later dismissed following intervention by the Trump administration.

He then went to a building in Brooklyn to announce that he was revitalizing a city office dedicated to tenant protection and creating two task forces focused on housing construction.

“I will govern as a democratic socialist”

Throughout the daytime ceremony, Mamdani and other speakers addressed the theme that carried him to election victory: using the power of government to uplift the millions who struggle with the city’s high cost of living.

Mamdani peppered his remarks with references to these New Yorkers, citing workers wearing steel-toed boots, halal cart vendors “whose knees hurt from working all day” and cooks “wielding a thousand spices.”

“I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” Mamdani said. “I will not abandon my principles for fear of being considered ‘radical’.”

Before taking the oath of office, Sanders told the crowd that most of the things Mamdani wants to do — including raising taxes on the rich — aren’t radical at all.

“In the richest country in the history of the world, ensuring that people can live in affordable housing is not radical,” he told the crowd. “It’s the right and decent thing to do.”

Mamdani was accompanied on stage by his wife, Rama Duwaji. Adams was also in attendance, sitting next to 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 delivered by Imam Khalid Latif, director of the Islamic Center of New York. Poet Cornelius Eady read an original poem titled “Proof.”

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 rides

At the watch party on Broadway, spectators stood shoulder to shoulder, watching several giants and singing and dancing to ward off the cold, some handing out hot chocolate and hand warmers. Many described the feeling of witnessing history.

Among them was Ariel Segura, a 16-year-old Bronx resident who arrived five hours early to secure a spot near the front of the crowd.

“I’m here promoting a politician, it’s kind of crazy,” he said, wiping away tears as Mamdani concluded his speech. “Now it’s time to hold him accountable.”

In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, Mamdani ran with a targeted agenda that included promises of free day care, free buses, a rent freeze for about a million households and a pilot project for city-run grocery stores.

Mamdani insisted in his inaugural speech that he would not waste the opportunity to implement these policies.

“A moment like this rarely comes. Rarely do we have such an opportunity for transformation and reinvention. Rarer still are the people themselves who have their hands on the levers of change. And yet we know that too often in our past, moments of great possibility were quickly abandoned to small imagination and lesser ambition,” he said.

But he’ll also have to deal with the day-to-day responsibilities of running America’s largest city: dealing with trash, snow and rats, while getting blamed for subway delays and potholes.

In his speech, Mamdani acknowledged the task ahead of him, saying he knows many will be watching to see if he can succeed.

“They want to know if the left can govern. They want to know if the struggles that afflict them can be resolved. They want to know if it is right to hope again,” he said. “So, by coming together with the winds of determination at our backs, we will do something that New Yorkers do better than anyone: we will set an example for the world. »

Rapid rise to power

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 when he was 7, with Mamdani growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn’t always feel welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.

He worked on political campaigns for the city’s Democratic candidates before running for public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.

Now that he has taken office, Mamdani and his wife will leave their one bedroom apartment, rent stabilized in the outer borough to settle in the stately residence of the mayor of Manhattan.

The new mayor inherits a city on the rise, after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has fallen to its lowest level before the pandemic. The tourists are back. Unemployment, which soared during the pandemic years, has also returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Yet deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents.

In her opening remarks to the crowd, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez praised New Yorkers for choosing “courage over fear.”

“We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few,” she said.

Confronting Trump

During the mayor’s race, President Donald Trump threatened to cut off federal funding to the city if Mamdani won and considered sending National Guard troops to the city.

But Trump surprised his supporters and enemies alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House to what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.

“I want him to do a great job and I will help him do a great job,” Trump said.

However, it is almost certain that tensions between the two leaders will 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 Mamdani’s town hall would be an ally to those the president has targeted.

Mamdani also faces skepticism and opposition from some members of the city’s Jewish community following his criticism of the Israeli government.

Still, Mamdani supporters in Thursday’s crowd expressed optimism that he would be a unifying force.

“There are times when everyone in New York comes together, like when the Mets won the World Series in 1986,” said Mary Hammann, 64, a musician with the Metropolitan Opera. “It’s like that – just colder.”

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Associated Press writer Jake Offenhartz contributed to this story.