French Tourists Doubted Subway Rider Was NYC’s New Mayor, He Showed Newspaper for Proof

Within less than 24 hours of hordes of enthusiastic supporters flooding into Manhattan for his , Zohran Mamdani started his first full day at work with a routine common to many New Yorkers: making his way to the subway from a cramped apartment.

Clad against the freezing cold and appearing to be battling a cold, he departed on Friday morning from the one-bedroom apartment in Queens that he shares with his wife. However, unlike most commuters, Mamdani’s journey was recorded by a photo and video team, and was intermittently interrupted by neighbors wishing him good fortune.

The individual, whose win was lauded as a pivotal moment for the progressive movement, has now taken on the task of governing the nation’s largest city: signing decrees, announcing appointments, fielding press inquiries — and accounting for some of the actions he took in his initial hours.

But first, the symbolic first-day commute.

Surrounded by security guards and a small group of aides on a train bound for Manhattan, he consented to several selfies with wide-eyed passengers, then moved to a corner seat of the train to go over his briefing materials.

When a pair of French tourists, puzzled by the commotion, approached Mamdani, he introduced himself as “the new mayor of New York.” They appeared skeptical. He held up that morning’s edition of the New York Daily News, which had his smiling face on it, as evidence.

Mamdani, a Democrat, is by no means unique among city mayors in using the transit system to convey approachability. His predecessor, Eric Adams, also took the subway on his first day, and both Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg were in the habit of doing so, especially when aiming to make a political statement.

Within minutes of Mamdani entering City Hall, the footage/photos of him riding public transit had gone viral on social media.

If the ride served as a well-timed publicity stunt, it also seemed to mirror Mamdani’s promise, made in his , to ensure that his “government looks and functions like the people it represents.”

His other early actions have also seemed to emphasize that priority.

After focusing much of his campaign on reducing rent for New Yorkers, Mamdani dashed from his inauguration ceremony on Thursday to a Brooklyn apartment building lobby, eliciting loud cheers from the tenants union as he vowed that the city would intensify an ongoing legal battle against the purportedly negligent landlord.

Meanwhile, Mamdani’s next move highlighted the unusual scrutiny his fledgling administration faced, particularly regarding his criticism of

To give his government a “fresh start,” he revoked a series of executive orders issued by Adams towards the end of his term, including two related to Israel: one that formally adopted a of antisemitism that encompasses certain criticism of Israel, and another and employees from boycotting or divesting from the country.

This move triggered immediate backlash from some Jewish organizations, including claims from the Israeli government that Mamdani had poured “antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”

When a journalist questioned him about the revoked orders on Friday, Mamdani read from prepared statements, vowing that his administration would be “unrelenting in its efforts to combat hate and division.” He mentioned that he had kept the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism intact.

Mamdani also announced the establishment of a “mass engagement” office, which he stated would carry on the work his had done to involve more New Yorkers in the political arena.

Surrounded by supporters and onlookers standing several rows back, phones raised to catch a sight of the new mayor, Mamdani then acknowledged the gravity of the present moment.

“We have an opportunity where New Yorkers are starting to believe in the possibility of city government once more,” he stated. “That belief won’t endure without action.”

Also on Mamdani’s agenda: Relocating to the mayor’s official residence, a grand mansion in the Upper East Side area of Manhattan, before his Queens apartment lease expires later this month.

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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.