Zohran Mamdani sworn in as New York City mayor

Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City just after midnight on Thursday, taking the oath of office at an historic, decommissioned subway station in Manhattan.

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

“This is truly the honour and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mr Mamdani said in a brief speech.

The private ceremony, administered by New York attorney general Letitia James, a political ally, took place at the old City Hall station, one of the city’s original subway stops that is known for its stunning arched ceilings.

In Mr Mamdani’s first remarks 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” as he announced the appointment of his new department of transportation commissioner, Mike Flynn.

Mr Mamdani will be sworn in again, in grander style, in a public ceremony at City Hall at 1pm by US senator Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes.

This will be followed by what his office is billing as a public block party on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes”, famous for its ticker-tape parades.

Mr Mamdani now begins one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country’s most-watched politicians.

In addition to being the city’s first Muslim mayor, Mr Mamdani is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa.

At 34, Mr Mamdani is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations.

In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, the democratic socialist promised to bring transformative change with policies intended to lower the cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities.

His platform included free childcare, free buses, a rent freeze for about one million households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.

Mr Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. His family moved to New York City when he was seven, with Mr Mamdani growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims did not always feel welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.

He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before he sought public office himself, winning a state assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.

Mr Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will depart their one-bedroom apartment to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan.

Mr Mamdani inherits a city on the upswing, after years of slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Violent crime has dropped to pre-pandemic lows. Tourists are back. Unemployment, which soared during the pandemic years, is also back to pre-Covid levels.

Yet deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents in the city.

He will also have to deal with Republican president Donald Trump.

During the mayoral race, Mr Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mr Mamdani won and mused about sending National Guard troops to the city.

But Mr Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House for what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.

“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Mr Trump said.

Still, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface, given their deep policy disagreements, particularly over immigration.