Zohran Mamdani, a young leader of the US left, was sworn in early Thursday to become New York’s mayor for a four-year term likely to put him at odds with US President Donald Trump.
The 34-year-old Democrat took the oath just after midnight at an abandoned subway stop beneath City Hall to lead the United States’ largest city. He will be New York’s first Muslim mayor.
His office said the understated venue under City Hall reflected his commitment to working people, after he campaigned on promises to address the soaring cost of living.
NBC News reported that Mamdani took the oath with his hands on two copies of the Holy Quran — one belonging to his grandfather and the other from the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture.
According to CNN, his parents, filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, were also in attendance.
A larger, ceremonial inauguration is scheduled later on Thursday with speeches from left-wing allies Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Around 4,000 ticketed guests are expected to attend the event outside City Hall.
Mamdani’s team has also organised a block party that it says will enable tens of thousands of people to watch the ceremony at streetside viewing areas along Broadway.