https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/nyregion/mamdani-subway-sworn-in-mayor.html

Skip to contentSkip to site index
New York
 
 
Today's Paper
 

N.Y.C.'s Mayor-Elect

  * Private Swearing-In
  * Inauguration Block Party
  * Mamdani's Latest Appointments
  * Election Takeaways
  * Detailed Mayoral Results

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your
access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will
load.

Supported by

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Mamdani Will Be Sworn In at Abandoned Subway Station Beneath City
Hall

Hours before Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani holds an inauguration block
party outside City Hall, he will officially become mayor in a small
private ceremony.

Listen to this article * 5:07 min Learn more

  * Share full article
  * 
  * 
  * 335

A view of the City Hall subway station, with a group of people
standing on the platform.
The old City Hall Station, which has been out of commission since
1945, is famous for its arches.Credit...Hiroko Masuike/The New York
Times
Jeffery C. Mays

By Jeffery C. Mays

Published Dec. 29, 2025Updated Dec. 30, 2025, 2:26 p.m. ET
Leer en espanol

As hundreds of thousands of people amass in Times Square for the
annual New Year's Eve ball drop, a much smaller gathering of
historical importance will begin underground at a long-abandoned
subway station.

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be sworn into office at the old City
Hall subway station, its tiled arches, chandeliers and vaulted
ceilings emblematic of a Gilded Age civic ambition that Mr. Mamdani
is seeking to honor in spirit.

"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," Mr. Mamdani said in a statement.
"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."

Letitia James, the New York attorney general, who has become a close
ally of the mayor-elect's, will perform the swearing-in during a
small private ceremony with Mr. Mamdani's family and a few close
advisers. The news was first reported by Streetsblog NYC.

That Mr. Mamdani chose the location of his private swearing-in based
on his vision for working New Yorkers is no surprise. The
mayor-elect, who is a democratic socialist, overcame a lack of name
recognition largely through his relentless focus on affordability.
His platform of creating universal child care, making public buses
fast and free and freezing the rent for one million rent-stabilized
apartments was remarkably popular.

Ms. James said that the location was fitting, considering that the
subway is the "lifeblood" of the city and a "great equalizer" for all
New Yorkers.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in
Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe
 for all of The Times.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Related Content

  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 

  * 
  * 
  * 

  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Site Index

Site Information Navigation

  * (c) 2025 The New York Times Company

  * NYTCo
  * Contact Us
  * Accessibility
  * Work with us
  * Advertise
  * T Brand Studio
  * Privacy Policy
  * Cookie Policy
  * Terms of Service
  * Terms of Sale
  * Site Map
  * Canada
  * International
  * Help
  * Subscriptions

  * Manage Privacy Preferences