NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to be sworn in during private ceremony

Dec. 30 (UPI) — Zohran Mamdani will greet the New Year as New York City’s newest mayor when the annual ball drops in Times Square at midnight on Thursday.

Mandani has scheduled a private swearing-in ceremony at New York City’s Old City Hall station, which is one of 28 original subway stations that opened in 1904 but has been closed for many years.

He described the Old City Hall Station as a “physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working people’s lives” in a news release announcing the swearing-in ceremony.

“When I take my oath from the station at the dawn of the New Year, I will do so humbled by the opportunity to lead millions of New Yorkers into a new era of opportunity and [am] honored to carry forward our city’s legacy of greatness,” Mamdani said.

He did not say why the ceremony will be private, but a public swearing-in also is scheduled on Thursday to “ensure that all New Yorkers are able to take part in ushering in a new era for New York City.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is scheduled to swear in Mamdani during the private ceremony in the former underground subway station that has become a historical tourist site.

When the ceremonial swearing-in is completed, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will administer the oath of office, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is scheduled to attend.

Mamdani credited Sanders with inspiring his political career that included a recent stint in the New York State Assembly.

Sanders previously swore in former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2018 after being elected to a second mayoral term.

A block party outside City Hall Plaza is scheduled after Mamdani’s ceremonial swearing-in on Thursday.

Mamdani replaces outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, who lost the Democratic Party primary to be its mayoral candidate.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also sought the Democratic Party’s nomination in the mayoral race but ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary.