And that concludes our live coverage of Zohran Mamdani’s historic inauguration. Thank you so much for reading along, and wishing you all a safe and healthy new year.
Zohran Mamdani now begins one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country’s closest-watched politicians whose platform promises free childcare, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1m households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.
But the estimated $10bn cost of providing those services may be hard to find. Mamdani has vowed to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and increase corporate taxes. But as a vassal city of the state government in Albany, he will need the legislative support of governor Kathy Hochul, who is running for re-election next year.
He’ll also have to deal with Donald Trump, who has labelled the new mayor a “communist” and threatened to withhold federal funding from the city. But a friendly meeting between the outer borough New Yorkers last month, where they bonded over building more housing in the city, surprised many expecting a political firework show.
“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Trump said.
Here are some more photos from the inauguration.
“The work, my friends, has only just begun,” says a beaming Mamdani, closing his speech.
Blue and gold confetti rains down on the crowd (who are freezing by the way!), whose spirits remain high.
“We will set an example for the world. If what Sinatra said is true, let us prove that anyone can make it in New York, and anywhere else too,” he says.
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Mamdani is aware that the success of his administration will impact New York but will also have wider ramifications for the rest of the country.
“There are many who will be watching. They want to know if the left can govern,” he says.
As mayor of New York, Mamdani says he, like Jadakiss, will “be outside”.
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He says he will not abandon his principles for fear of being deemed “radical”.
I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist.
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Mamdani says his agenda will deliver “safety, affordability and abundance”.
He poses a new answer to the question, “Who does New York belong to?”
For too long, it has belonged to the “wealthy and well-connected”, he says. “Working people have reckoned with the consequences.”
Mamdani vows to govern 'expansively and audaciously' as he refuses to reset expectations
Mamdani says that in writing his remarks, he was advised to lower expectations.
I will do no such thing. The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.
Beginning today we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.
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He also pays tribute to Bernie Sanders, calling him the man whose leadership he seeks most to emulate.
Mamdani also pays tribute to AOC, telling her: “You have paved the way for this moment.”
He graciously thanks his predecessor, Eric Adams, (whose name prompts boos from the crowd), adding:
I will always be touched that he chose me as the mayoral candidate that he would most want to be trapped with in an elevator.
Addressing those who didn’t vote for him, those who view him with “distrust and disdain”, and those who have lost faith in politics, he says:
While only action can change minds, I promise you this: if you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor.
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He jokes that he is honored to serve as either the 111th or 112th mayor of New York City (after it emerged that the city may have been counting wrong for decades).
Mamdani promises 'a new era' for New York City in first speech as mayor
Mamdani takes the stage, declaring:
My fellow New Yorkers, today begins a new era.
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Mamdani is publicly sworn in by Bernie Sanders
The crowd chants “Zohran, Zohran, Zohran” as their new mayor puts his hand on his grandmother’s Qur’an to take his oath.
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The billionaire class has to understand, Sanders says, that in America “they cannot have it all”. America, he says, “must belong to all of us not just the few.”
“That lesson begins today, in New York City,” he says.
And demanding that the wealthy and the corporations start paying their fair share of taxes, Sanders says, is not radical. “It is exactly the right thing to do,” he says.
The crowd bursts into “tax the rich”.
Progressive ideas like affordable housing, free childcare, free buses, and affordable good-quality food are not radical, says Sanders. “It is the right and decent thing to do.”
“Countries all over the world have done it for years,” he says.
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Throughout the country and the world, people are “losing faith in democracy”, Sanders says. But Mamdani’s campaign inspired thousands of volunteers, he says.
When working people stand up, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
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As Bernie Sanders stands to pass the baton and swear in Mamdani, the crowd are on their feet once again, applauding and chanting “Bernie”.
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Lucy Dacus then performs “Bread & Roses”.
Breaking into tears, Williams tells his younger self and the visibly emotional crowd:
Little black boy, you are worth it, and you always were. And without any titles, you were enough. You were always enough. And you deserve to accept love and you deserve to be protected. And I’m honored to be here to help create a city that’s worthy of that for you. And I’m so proud of you.
The crowd breaks into applause and gives Williams a standing ovation, joining him in saying: “We gon’ be alright.”
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“The reason so many New Yorkers have too little is not because of people who have even less or who have been here for less time, not because of those pushed to the bottom, but because of the systems entrenched at the top,” he says. “That’s where we should focus our anger and our actions.”
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“Even as the federal government drives us to despair, local leadership can invite inspiration,” he says.
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Jumaane Williams takes the stage after being sworn in by several immigrants as the public advocate for the city.
Poet Cornelius Eady then recites his poem “Proof”.
“We will protect the immigrants of this city,” Levine says.
Levine notes that there are three swearings in today; one by a leader using a Qur’an, one using a Christian Bible, and one using a Hebrew Bible. “I’m proud to live in a city where this is possible,” he says.
James says she is proud to be here to “usher in a new day for New York City”.
Letita James, the New York attorney general, takes the stage to swear in Mark Levine, the comptroller. She also swore Mamdani in shortly after midnight.
Mandy Patinkin takes the stage to The Beatles “Here Comes the Sun”, and performs “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.
“Let New York City continue to show the world what is possible when people believe in one another, and continue to show that respect, dignity and compassion are no longer for the few, but for the all, Amen,” he says.
“Let hope be something we practice daily,” says Imam Latif. “The city belongs to all of us and our liberation is bound together.”
Zohran Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji appearing on stage for his inauguration ceremony earlier.
New York is a place that “a young immigrant democrat socialist Muslim can be bold enough to run and brave enough to win,” he says, “not by abandoning conviction, but by standing firmly within it.”
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Imam Khalid Latif, executive director of the Islamic Center of New York City, delivers the invocation, surrounded by a group of faith leaders from around the city.
She closes her remarks by noting that Mamdani is the city’s first Muslim mayor, and its youngest and first immigrant mayor in a long time.
New York has chosen 'courage over fear', says AOC
“The people of New York City have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times,” she says.
“New York, we have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few,” she says.
We have chosen to make a new future for all of us, we have chosen a mayor who is relentlessly dedicated to make life not just possible but aspirational for working people ... we have chosen that over the distractions of bigotry and the barbarism of extreme inequality.
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AOC: Today marks 'a new era' for New York City
“Together, this ascent marks a new era for New York City, led by a historic new mayor in Zohran Mamdani,” she says, “guided by his dedication to a working class that makes our city run.”
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AOC takes to the stage to deliver her opening remarks.
While we wait for the ceremony to get under way, a reminder that this time last year Mamdani, a virtual unknown, plunged into the freezing waves at Coney Island in a suit and tie, in a bid to gain traction for his campaign. “I’m freezing … you rent as the next mayor of New York City. Let’s plunge into the details,” he said.
Here’s a roundup of some of his best quotes:
Here are some photos coming out of New York City as we wait for Mamdani’s inauguration block party to get under way.
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Happy new year! In the wee hours of 2026, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the new mayor of New York City in a private ceremony in the abandoned beaux-arts subway station under city hall.
The democratic socialist, 34, was sworn into office by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, surrounded by wife, Rama Duwaji, members of his immediate family, including Mira Nair, his mother and a film-maker, and his father, Mahmood Mamdani, a professor of African studies at Columbia University.
And Mamdani, who becomes the city’s first ever Muslim mayor, was sworn in with a Qur’an. He told those present:
This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime. I cannot wait to see everyone tomorrow as we begin our term. After just having taken my oath to become the mayor of the city of New York, I do so also here in the old city hall subway station – a testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health, the legacy of our city.
The midnight ceremony will be followed by a 1pm ET public inauguration at city hall during which the new mayor will be introduced by fellow progressives Bronx Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and sworn in by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.
We’ll be covering all that here, so stay tuned.
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