January 1, Socialist Mayor Takes Over New York City

Wyatt’s Take

• Zohran Mamdani makes history as mayor of New York City.
• His radical agenda includes free child care and buses, rent freezes, and more government programs.
• Questions arise over immigration, crime, and Israel policy.

Zohran Mamdani was sworn in just after midnight, becoming the first Muslim, South Asian, and Africa-born mayor of America’s biggest city.

Voters put him in office at 34 on promises of affordability and expansive government programs.

He wants the city to provide free child care, free buses, rent freezes for about a million households, and government-run grocery stores.

“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” he said at the ceremony, administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James at the historic City Hall subway station.

Mamdani called the old subway stop a “testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health, and the legacy of our city.”

Born in Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York at age seven and became a U.S. citizen in 2018.

He previously won election to the state Assembly in Queens and is married to Rama Duwaji. They’ll be moving to Gracie Mansion from a rent-stabilized apartment.

He won the race over former Governor Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani has doubled down on his rent freeze pledge, sanctuary city rules, and promises to stop clearing homeless encampments.

President Trump once warned Mamdani’s victory would be “very bad” for the city but later said, “I expect to be helping him, not hurting him—a big help, because I want New York City to be great.”

Some Jewish leaders are wary due to Mamdani’s criticisms of Israel’s government.

His team features Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and chief counsel Ramzi Kassem, a former advisor in the Biden administration who has represented terror suspects in court.

Mamdani had a private swearing-in at midnight and will hold a public event Jan. 1st, led by Senator Bernie Sanders, followed by a Broadway block party honoring the city’s parade heroes.

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Wyatt Matters

Leadership in a city this vast shapes the everyday lives of working folks, especially as big-city policies ripple out. What happens in New York has a way of moving across the heartland sooner or later.