Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who campaigned on a promise to tackle the affordability crisis in one of America’s most expensive cities, was sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor early Thursday.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old immigrant from Uganda, makes history as the city’s first Muslim mayor, first South Asian mayor and the youngest mayor to hold the high-profile office in more than a century.
“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said moments after being sworn in.
The former state assemblyman from Queens captured the world’s attention and stunned the political establishment with his win in the Democratic primary last summer, running a campaign focused on affordability: He promised to create a universal childcare program, freeze the rent for roughly two million rent-stabilized tenants and make city buses “fast and free.”
Mamdani was sworn just after midnight during a private ceremony alongside his wife, artist Rama Duwaji. His parents, filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, were also in attendance.
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