Zohran Mamdani will change into mayor of New York Metropolis because the clock ticks over into 2026 — however the celebrations are set to final by means of New Yr’s Day.
The Democrat’s crew is planning two separate swearing-in ceremonies Thursday — a small, non-public one together with his household in an outdated subway station round midnight, adopted by a big occasion within the afternoon that can embody a public block occasion exterior Metropolis Corridor.
As a new mayor’s time period begins instantly with the brand new yr, it has been customary for town’s incoming leaders to carry two occasions. Outgoing mayor Eric Adams held his preliminary swearing-in at Instances Sq. shortly after the well-known ball drop, whereas Adams’ predecessor, Invoice de Blasio, took his first oath at residence in Brooklyn.
For his half, Mamdani will take his preliminary oath on the former Metropolis Corridor subway station in Manhattan — one of many metropolis’s unique stops on its subterranean transit system, recognized for its tiled arches and vaulted ceilings.
New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James, a political ally and notable foe of President Donald Trump, will administer the oath of workplace.
The outdated Metropolis Corridor cease was designed because the flagship station of town’s first subway line, however was decommissioned in 1945. Today, exterior of occasional guided historic excursions, locals can often solely catch a glimpse of it by staying on the 6 practice after its final cease downtown when it turns round to go north.
In a press release, Mamdani’s workplace mentioned the selection to be sworn in on the station mirrored his “dedication to the working individuals who preserve our metropolis operating daily.”
“When Outdated Metropolis Corridor Station first opened in 1904 — certainly one of New York’s 28 unique subway stations — it was a bodily monument to a metropolis that dared to be each stunning and construct nice issues that may remodel working peoples’ lives,” Mamdani mentioned.
“That ambition needn’t be a reminiscence confined solely to our previous, nor should it’s remoted solely to the tunnels beneath Metropolis Corridor: it will likely be the aim of the administration lucky sufficient to serve New Yorkers from the constructing above,” he mentioned.
On Thursday afternoon, Mamdani shall be sworn in once more, this time by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, certainly one of his political heroes, on the steps of Metropolis Corridor in a ceremony scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one other political ally, will ship opening remarks.
Mamdani’s transition fashioned an inaugural committee that features actor John Turturro, playwright Cole Escola and author Colson Whitehead, in addition to advocates, small enterprise house owners and marketing campaign staff who the incoming mayor’s workplace says have “supplied perspective, steerage, and cultural sensibility” for the ceremony.
The general public swearing-in shall be accompanied by a block occasion alongside a stretch of Broadway main as much as Metropolis Corridor. Mamdani’s workplace expects hundreds of individuals to attend and says there shall be performances, music and interfaith components.
