NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani Plans Jan. 1 Swearing In At Old City Hall Subway Station With “Inauguration For A New Era” Block Party
Zohran Mamdani will be officially sworn in as the 112th major of New York City on Jan. 1 some feet below City Hall at an abandoned Gilded Age subway station during a private midnight ceremony.
“When Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 — one of New York’s 28 original subway stations — it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working peoples’ lives. That ambition need not be a memory confined only to our past, nor must it be isolated only to the tunnels beneath City Hall: it will be the purpose of the administration fortunate enough to serve New Yorkers from the building above,” said the mayor-elect in a statement.
The station, with tiled arches, chandeliers and vaulted ceilings, was shuttered in 1945 because, says the New York Times, its curved platform did not line up with the doors of newer trains, leaving dangerous gaps.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James will deliver the Oath of Office with Mamdani’s family and close advisors in attendance.
A big public event will unfold above ground at a ceremonial swearing-in on the steps of City Hall starting at 1 pm and hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders. About 4,000 tickets were made available for the event, which will also be shown on jumbotrons near City Hall Plaza in tandem with an “Inauguration For A New Era Block Party” along Broadway between Liberty Street and Murray Street. It’s NYC’s first ever inauguration block party for a new mayor.
“This inauguration is a celebration of the movement we built, the mandate we won, and the city we are prepared to lead,” Mamdani said. “Working New Yorkers are at the heart of our agenda and we invite them to join us as we welcome this new era of politics to City Hall.”
The event can also be viewed online. Registration is required for both in person and virtual. “As the calendar turns and a new era begins, join us for an outdoor block party in celebration of inauguration! Watch the 2026 NYC Inauguration unfold on the big screen side by side with the community that made it all possible! Bring your friends and bundle up!” the invite reads.
Mamdani, 34, will be the city’s first Democratic Socialist mayor as well as its first Muslim and first Southeast Asian chief executive. He swept to victory in November on a wave of enthusiasm, from young voters in particular, with an energetic campaign focused on affordability including universal child care and free public buses.
Mamdani, who has served in the New York State Assembly representing the 36th District neighborhoods of Astoria, Ditmars-Steinway, and Astoria Heights, was born in Kampala, Uganda to Indian parents and moved to New York City at age seven, His mother is acclaimed film director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala).
Republicans have cast him as a liberal boogeyman and some fellow Democrats were slow to embrace him as too far left. All were surprised by an exceedingly cordial Oval Office meeting last month with Donald Trump where a smiling president said, “We agree on a lot more than I would have thought” as the duo laughed and praised each other.
