Zohran Mamdani sworn in as New York City mayor at historic subway station

Letitia James, New York's attorney general, from left, Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, and his wife Rama Duwaji during a swearing-in ceremony at Old City Hall Station in New York, US, early on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. A 34-year-old democratic socialist born in Uganda, Mamdani becomes the city's first mayor of South Asian descent, its first Muslim mayor and the youngest leader of the metropolis of nearly 8.5 million people in more than a century. Photographer: Amir Hamja/The New York Times/Bloomberg

NEW YORK: Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City just after midnight Thursday (Jan 1), taking the oath of office at a historic, decommissioned subway station in Manhattan.

Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in as the first Muslim leader of America's biggest city, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath.