With a symbolic move that sums up his political vision, he will begin his term as its mayor, the newly elected. The 34-year-old – – democratic socialist will be sworn in at a station emblematic of another era, the old City Hall station, one of the first 28 New York subway stations that opened in 1904.
With its tiled arches, chandeliers and vaulted ceilings, the station is a monument to the city’s “Golden Age” — a period when public ambition combined beauty with great social infrastructure.
“It was a physical monument to a city that dared to be beautiful and build projects that changed the lives of workers,” said Mamdani, stressing that this ambition should not just be a thing of the past.
A political statement in favor of workers
The choice of venue is not accidental. Mamdani, an avowed democratic socialist, won the election based almost entirely on an affordable-living agenda: universal child care, free and fast public buses and a rent freeze for a million rent-controlled apartments.
He will administer the oath to New York Attorney General Leticia James in a small, private ceremony with the new mayor’s family and close associates.
“The subway is the great equalizer”
Leticia James called the subway a “vital organ” of the city and a “great equalizer” of New Yorkers.
“With all our strengths and weaknesses, we’re all in the same wagon together,” he said, adding that Mamdani understands that all the city’s residents deserve to prosper, regardless of the line they use.
From the underground oath to the mass ceremony
About 13 hours after the private swearing-in, the official ceremony will follow outside City Hall. Mamdani will be sworn in by Senator Bernie Sanders, while parts of Broadway will be closed to accommodate up to 40,000 citizens.
A gem station that was closed due to… curve
City Hall station was closed in 1945 because its curved platform did not line up with the doors of newer trains, creating dangerous gaps. Today it is only accessible via official tours or if one stays on the 6 train past the Brooklyn Bridge.
Built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, it cost $35 million at the time — nearly $1.2 billion in today’s prices — and was considered a model for the City Beautiful movement, which linked architecture with social progress.
“A New Chapter for New York”
“When I take my oath at the dawn of the new year,” Mamdani said, “I will do so with humility in the face of the responsibility to lead millions of New Yorkers into a new era of opportunity.”
With information from Axios
