NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrates inauguration with public ceremony

There was speculation about whether Mamdani would live in Gracie Mansion after he told reporters he was undecided about his future residence.

Mamdani eventually confirmed he and his wife would leave their apartment in Astoria and move into the official residence of New York City’s mayor. 

“This decision came down to our family’s safety and the importance of dedicating all of my focus on enacting the affordability agenda New Yorkers voted for,” Mamdani said in a statement on Dec. 8. 

Gracie Mansion was built in 1799 and has housed the city’s mayors since the 1940s. It’s located on East End Avenue and 88th Street in Manhattan’s Yorkville neighborhood, overlooking the East River. 

Some 4,000 ticketed guests will attend the City Hall inauguration ceremonies. Thousands more will be able to take in the festivities at the block party. 

How to watch: Stream live coverage on CBS News New York at noon and 1 p.m.  

Inauguration ceremony: Starts at 1 p.m. on the steps of New York City Hall.

Here’s a rundown of the ceremony:

• Presentation of colors and national anthem performed by Javier Muñoz
• Welcoming address by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
• Invocation by Imam Khalid Latif
• Musical performance by Mandy Patinkin and the P.S. 22 Chorus of Staten Island
• Comptroller Mark Levine is sworn in
• Poetry reading by Cornelius Eady
• Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is sworn in
• Musical performance by Lucy Dacus
• Mayor Zohran Mamdani is sworn in by Sen. Bernie Sanders and delivers his inaugural address
• Musical performance by Babbulicious

Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City in a private midnight ceremony that was layered in symbolism. 

Mamdani took his oath on a Quran rather than a Bible at the Old City Hall subway station, setting the tone for a historic new chapter in New York City leadership.

“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said as he officially became the 112th mayor. 

Mamdani said he chose to be sworn in on the historic Quran to honor the deep roots of Muslim communities in the city. 

The oath was administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James at the long-closed Old City Hall station, one of New York’s original 28 subway stops, a relic of the city’s earliest ambitions for public transit.

“A testament to the importance of public transit, to the vitality, the health, and the legacy of our city,” Mamdani said.

Using the moment to underscore his transportation agenda, he also announced Michael Flynn as his Department of Transportation commissioner.

“Someone who’s experienced, who is fluent in the landscape as it is, and who is ambitious and imaginative towards the landscape as it could be. And I can think of no better person than the man alongside me,” Mamdani said.

Here’s a list of key officials Mamdani has appointed to help run New York City:

Mamdani announced the “Inauguration of a New Era” block party in the Canyon of Heroes, the stretch of Broadway in Lower Manhattan that’s famous for ticker-tape parades. 

Mamdani’s team anticipates tens of thousands of people will be able to attend the festivities on Broadway, from Liberty Street to Murray Street. 

The block party is accompanying the inauguration ceremony, with music, performances and interfaith elements, according to the mayor’s team.

Mamdani said security will be tight at City Hall Plaza and along the block party route throughout the inauguration.  

Zohran Mamdani won the 2025 New York City mayor’s race with just over 50% of the vote in the November general election. He defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who won about 41% of the vote as an independent — and Republican Curtis Sliwa. 

Mamdani’s campaign centered around the cost of living energized a coalition of young and progressive voters, even with some critics questioning his experience and raising concerns about his views on Israel, which Cuomo’s campaign zeroed in on.

Mamdani’s affordability agenda, including a rent freeze and universal child care, first propelled him to victory in the Democratic primary, when he soundly defeated Cuomo for the party’s nomination.