New York , 02 January (H.S.): Zohran Mamdani, the Indian-origin Democratic socialist, was publicly inaugurated Thursday as New York City's 112th mayor, becoming its first Muslim leader, first of South Asian descent, and the youngest in over a century at age 34.

The ceremony on City Hall steps, attended by thousands braving frigid winds, featured oaths administered by Senator Bernie Sanders and an introduction by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, signaling a bold progressive shift amid the city's affordability crisis.

Midnight private oath in subway vault

Mamdani's tenure commenced precisely on Thursday with a private swearing-in at the decommissioned Old City Hall subway station, a beaux-arts gem with soaring arched ceilings evoking New York's transit heritage.

New York Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath as his wife, Rama Duwaji, held two Qurans—one belonging to his grandfather and another from the New York Public Library once owned by Afro-Latino scholar Arturo Schomburg—marking the first time a mayor swore on the holy book.

Emerging from the subterranean site, Mamdani declared the moment the honour and privilege of a lifetime, before heading to his office to begin work.

Public spectacle: Sanders, AOC and family on stageBy early afternoon Thursday, Mamdani returned to City Hall for the public ceremony, where Sanders—his ideological mentor—re-administered the oath before a cheering crowd of invited guests and onlookers.

Ocasio-Cortez opened with praise for New Yorkers' choice of courage over fear, while Mamdani quipped about predecessor Eric Adams, joking Adams had picked him as the mayoral candidate he'd most want to be trapped with in an elevator.

His parents, filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, joined Duwaji onstage, as Imam Khalid Latif of the Islamic Center of New York University led an interfaith invocation surrounded by diverse faith leaders.

Vows of unity and bold transformation

In his inaugural address, Mamdani proclaimed Thursday the start of a new era, pledging, If you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor, while acknowledging historical debates over whether he is the 111th or 112th mayor. He vowed relentless action on affordability, free childcare, public transit and taxing the ultra-wealthy, urging all New Yorkers to hold him accountable regardless of political stripe.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio attended alongside Adams, bridging eras as the city comptroller Mark Levine and public advocate Jumaane Williams also took oaths.

Block party amid Canyon of Heroes chill

The formalities spilled into a massive seven-block inauguration block party along Broadway's Canyon of Heroes—site of iconic ticker-tape parades—drawing an estimated 40,000 despite sub-zero wind chills.

Organizers framed the event as inclusive for all New Yorkers, from outer-borough renters to Manhattan elites, capping a day steeped in symbolism from subway depths to civic heights. Mamdani and Duwaji will soon relocate from their rent-stabilized Queens apartment to Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar