New Delhi, Jan 1 (UNI): Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the mayor of New York City just after midnight on Thursday, taking the oath of office at a decommissioned subway station in Manhattan.
As the first Muslim leader of America’s largest city, Mamdani, a Democrat, took the oath, placing his hand on the Quran, while standing at the flight of stairs right in front of the arched ceiling of the defunct subway station.
“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said in a brief speech.
The ceremony took place at an iconic City Hall station, one of the city’s original subway stops, according to foreign media reports.
In Mamdani’s first speech as mayor, he said the old subway station was a “testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health, and the legacy of our city.”
He is not only the city’s first Muslim mayor, but also the first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is the city’s youngest mayor in generations.
The young mayor smiled and headed up the flight of stairs, beaming with enthusiasm at the end of the ceremony, and said, “Thank you all so much, now I will see you later.”
He will be sworn in again at an official public ceremony by US Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes, at City Hall later on Thursday.
