New York City entered 2026 with a mayoral inauguration that broke from convention as Zohran Mamdani, the city’s mayor-elect, assumed office with a private midnight oath beneath City Hall and a large public ceremony and citywide celebration hours later.
At 34 years old, Mamdani became the youngest mayor New York City has seen in a century, as well as its first Muslim mayor and its first mayor of South Asian descent.
How Mamdani’s oath breaks convention
Mamdani’s term as mayor officially begins at the first moment of the new year.
As the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2026,
he took the oath of office in a private ceremony held inside the decommissioned Old City Hall subway station, located beneath Park Row and City Hall Park.
The station, which first opened to riders in 1904, was among the original 28 subway stations that launched New York City’s underground transit system.
It ceased operations in 1945 and has since remained largely inaccessible to the public, opening only for occasional guided tours.
The decision to hold the first swearing-in there was intentional, linking the start of Mamdani’s administration to a physical remnant of the city’s early 20th-century ambition.
Explaining the choice, Mamdani said in a press release, “When Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 — one of New York’s 28 original subway stations — it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working peoples’ lives. That ambition need not be a memory confined only to our past, nor must it be isolated only to the tunnels beneath City Hall: It will be the purpose of the administration fortunate enough to serve New Yorkers from the building above.”
Attendance at the midnight ceremony will be limited to Mamdani’s immediate family and a select group of invited guests.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath of office, formally making Mamdani the city’s next mayor.
Details of the underground ceremony were first reported by Streetsblog NYC, but Mamdani’s transition team later confirmed the plan, describing it as a deliberately private and reflective start to his administration.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio took a private oath just after midnight on New Year’s Day in 2014 outside his Park Slope home before holding a public ceremony at City Hall later that morning.
By contrast, Mayor Eric Adams was sworn in publicly in Times Square in 2022, moments after the New Year’s Eve ball drop.
The first mayor to use the Quran
Mamdani, the first Muslim mayor of New York City, added his own tradition to the ceremony. During the swearing-in, he put his hand on the Quran, the first mayor in the city to do so.
Mamdani is expected to use at least three unique Qurans for his public and private swearing-in ceremonies, senior adviser Zara Rahim, told The New York Times earlier. For his private swearing-in ceremony early Thursday (January 1), he used his grandfather’s Quran and one that belonged to Arturo Schomburg, the Black writer and historian. It will be lent to the mayor by the New York Public Library, the report said.
For the public ceremony, he is expected to use the two Qurans used by his grandfather and grandmother.
How Letitia James comes into the picture
Attorney General Letitia James has played a significant role in Mamdani’s political ascent. She was among his most high-profile endorsers during the Democratic primary, at a time when many prominent Democrats in New York kept their distance from his campaign.
The primary was conducted using ranked-choice voting, allowing voters to rank up to five candidates. During the contest, James publicly stated that she ranked Mamdani third on her ballot.
In October, she appeared alongside him at a rally shortly after she had been indicted on fraud charges related to a mortgage loan — charges that were later dismissed by a federal judge.
Speaking at that rally, James said, “He is a leader fighting for a better future for this city, and he, like me, knows what it’s like to be attacked, to be called names, to be threatened, to be harassed.”
In a separate press release addressing her role in the swearing-in ceremony, James described administering the oath as “an honour,” adding that Mamdani “ran a campaign that brought together New Yorkers around the universal idea that we should all be able to afford to live in our city.”
Mamdani has previously described James as one of his political inspirations, making her role in the midnight ceremony both symbolic and personal.
How Mamdani delivered a citywide upset
Mamdani
began his political career in 2020, when he won a Democratic primary and then the general election for New York State Assembly District 36, which includes Astoria and parts of Long Island City in Queens.
As an assemblyman, Mamdani focused on issues tied to affordability and labour. He championed a pilot initiative that provided free bus service on one route in each of the city’s five boroughs.
He also stood alongside taxi drivers during a hunger strike aimed at pressuring officials to reduce the crushing debt many drivers accumulated under the city’s medallion system.
When Mamdani entered the mayoral race, he did so as a long shot.
A Quinnipiac University poll released in February showed him with just 8 per cent support among voters. At that point, former Governor Andrew Cuomo led the field with 31 per cent, while incumbent Mayor Eric Adams held 11 per cent.
Over the following months, Mamdani’s campaign steadily gained traction. By June, polling released on the eve of the Democratic primary indicated that he had overtaken Cuomo in the final round of ranked-choice voting.
That projection proved accurate.
Mamdani secured the Democratic nomination by defeating Cuomo 56.4 per cent to 43.6 per cent in the final count.
Following the primary, Mamdani maintained a consistent lead in general election polling, often ahead of Cuomo by double digits.
In November, he went on to win the mayoralty outright, defeating Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
The victory made Mamdani the mayor-elect of the country’s largest city and one of the most prominent democratic socialists ever elected to executive office in the United States.
His campaign platform
centred on affordability, including proposals to freeze rents citywide and make municipal bus service free.
Who is attending Mamdani’s public swearing-in
While the midnight ceremony marks the official start of Mamdani’s term, the public face of his inauguration will unfold later on January 1.
At 1 pm, local time, Mamdani will participate in a ceremonial swearing-in on the steps of City Hall.
The oath at the public event will be administered by Independent US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who endorsed Mamdani during the Democratic mayoral primary and appeared with him on the campaign trail.
Sanders framed Mamdani’s election as part of a broader political movement.
“At a moment when democracy is under attack and cynicism about our politics runs deep, Zohran Mamdani represents a new generation of progressive leadership rooted in courage, integrity and solidarity,” Sanders said in a press release.
“His victory is not just about one city or one election, it is about the strength of a working-class movement that says unequivocally: the future of New York belongs to the people, not the billionaire class. It is my honor to swear him in as the next mayor of New York City.”
Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who also backed Mamdani in the primary, is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at the ceremony.
Mamdani praised her involvement in a press release, saying, “I’ve been so proud to count her as a partner across the many stages of our people-powered movement. I’m honoured that she’ll be a part of our historic City Hall inauguration.”
Mamdani will be sworn in alongside City Comptroller-elect Mark Levine and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
According to the transition team, all three officials are expected to address the crowd during the ceremony, which will include musical performances, artistic elements and interfaith participation.
Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams has confirmed he would attend the event, saying he wants “to show the smooth, peaceful transition of power.”
What else is planned for Mamdani’s inauguration
One of the most distinctive elements of Mamdani’s inauguration is the large public block party planned to accompany the City Hall ceremony.
The celebration will take place along Broadway’s “Canyon of Heroes,” spanning the stretch between Liberty Street and Murray Street.
The block party will run from 11 am to 3 pm and will feature large viewing areas where attendees can watch the swearing-in live. While the event is free, attendance is limited, and entry requires advance registration through the transition team’s website.
Organisers have indicated that tens of thousands of New Yorkers could be accommodated along the route.
The transition team has advised attendees to arrive between 11 am and noon. The main entrance will be located at the intersection of Liberty Street and Broadway, with an ADA-accessible entrance at Barclay Street and Broadway.
The inauguration ceremony itself is not open to the general public, making the block party a first-of-its-kind alternative that allows residents to participate in the moment without entering the secured City Hall area.
What New Yorkers need to know
Due to the scale of the event, several transit adjustments and security measures will be in place throughout Lower Manhattan.
Subway service will operate on a Sunday schedule, and some trains and stations will be affected, as reported by local media. The R train will skip City Hall in both directions, and W trains will not run.
The nearest ADA-accessible station to City Hall during the event will be World Trade Center Cortlandt.
Multiple subway exits will be closed, including the Broadway exit at the Fulton Street station complex serving the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, R and PATH lines.
Commuters travelling west across Broadway will be directed to the Dey Street passageway, which is ADA accessible. At the Park Place 2 and 3 station, the Broadway exit will be closed, with Church Street designated as the alternative.
At the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station serving the 4, 5, 6 and J lines, access to City Hall Plaza and Park will be restricted. Riders exiting there will be routed east toward Centre Street, with Reade Street designated for those needing to cross west.
Security protocols for the block party are extensive. Small bags and backpacks with personal items are permitted, along with thermoses containing non-alcoholic beverages, snacks and cold-weather clothing.
Prohibited items include large bags, strollers, drones, bicycles, umbrellas, alcohol, illegal substances, pets other than service animals, and a wide range of other items. All bags will be searched upon entry.
The transition team has also advised attendees to dress warmly, bring snacks and plan accordingly, noting that there will be no public restrooms available during the event.
How to watch
For those unable to attend in person, the inauguration will be broadcast live. Local news channels will provide free access to the coverage, beginning at noon, with streaming also available on numerous local news YouTube channels.
“When I take my oath from the station at the dawn of the New Year, I will do so humbled by the opportunity to lead millions of New Yorkers into a new era of opportunity, and honoured to carry forward our city’s legacy of greatness,” Mamdani said.
Zohran Mamdani’s swearing-in is set to be one of the most distinctive mayoral inaugurations New York City has witnessed in decades.
With inputs from agencies
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