Overview
- Zohran Mamdani took office with a private midnight oath at the Old City Hall subway station and a public ceremony at City Hall featuring Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
- He signed an order rescinding all executive orders issued by Eric Adams since September 26, 2024, including the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism and a prohibition on BDS-related actions by city agencies.
- The Israeli Foreign Ministry denounced the reversals as antisemitic, major Jewish organizations in New York objected, and Mamdani kept the city’s Office to Combat Antisemitism in place while defending free-expression concerns.
- Mamdani also revoked Adams’s authorization for ICE operations at Rikers Island and moved to advance affordability measures, bolstering the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and launching new housing task forces (LIFT and SPEED).
- Framing his mandate around lowering costs for residents, he reiterated goals such as rent freezes, free buses, and expanded childcare, and he later phoned President Donald Trump to oppose the U.S. military action in Venezuela.