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By Diego Ramos / Original to ScheerPost
As New York City prepares to welcome its 112th mayor, the man to be sworn in at the stroke of midnight, Zohran Mamdani, continues his masterful use of idiosyncratic symbols just as he did throughout his campaign in 2025.
Not only did he bring an essence of familiarity through his campaigning, Mamdani also never failed to tether policy to his activities. Perhaps this is the most important part of his use of iconic New York symbolism. He made himself an approachable, real and concerned New Yorker who was able to both identify the issues facing ordinary citizens as well as solutions he plans to implement.
From jumping into Coney Island’s freezing cold water to promote his rent freeze policy to fluently speaking Spanish, Urdu and Arabic in campaign videos to reporting on Halalflation — an increase in Halal food truck prices due to the city’s failure to process street vendor licenses adequately — to arriving at debates on a city bus, Mamdani attached himself to every facet of New York City life.
He worked tirelessly to become the face of the city not plainly through his new job title but by embellishing his persona with the best the city has to offer. Now, as he prepares himself to become the first Muslim mayor in city history, Mamdani’s efforts remain the same, except now in the context of a greater political project and vision.
To bring in this new era of New York politics, Mamdani does not flounder in his use of symbols, maintaining a strong display that puts the city and its citizens front and center.
Bernie Sanders, a contemporary symbol of a political movement that inspired millions of Americans, is set to administer the oath of office to Mamdani, who carried the torch and proved that this brand of politics can win and win big.
In an interview with The Nation magazine, Mamdani said, “[Sanders] gave me the language with which to describe my own politics, a decade ago. It was his presidential campaign in 2016 that showed me and so many Americans across this country that we were not alone in our belief in dignity as a necessity for each and every person who calls this country their home. And it’s frankly an honor for me that I will be on that stage with him as I begin this next chapter.”
A proud Muslim who used his identity as a unifying symbol for the almost one million Muslims in New York City facing a new wave of Islamophobia, Mamdani continues to place it front and center as he is set to become the first mayor in the city’s history to use a Quran at his swearing-in ceremonies.
“Let’s be honest, Muslims have not been in electoral life for decades like other ethnic groups and communities,” Councilmember Shahana Hanif said. “I think the Quran represents this example of extending solidarity to the Muslim community in New York City and, really, abroad.”
The Old City Hall Station, out of commission since 1945, is known to New Yorkers as a exemplification of public transportation’s potential. A beautiful historic landmark only accessible through tours from the New York Transit Museum, it will serve as the site for Mamdani’s private swearing-in ceremony, further cementing his image and relationship with the city’s public transportation infrastructure.
In a statement, Mamdani remarked, “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.”
Cornelius Eady, a renowned poet and National Book Award finalist, is set to read an original inaugural poem at the public swearing-in ceremony. In an interview with the New York Times, Eady said “People are seeing themselves reflected in him and in his energy, and that’s just like medicine to them.”
US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to introduce Mamdani at a public ceremony. A fellow New Yorker and veteran of the progressive movement, AOC has been seen alongside Mamdani for a while now and, alongside Bernie Sanders’ involvement, represents the broader reach and implications of Mamdani’s crusade.
Mamdani’s inaugural committee, which will serve as hosts for the inauguration celebrations, includes a broad swath of well-known New York City icons as well as political allies. Amongst the group of 48 names, some notable figures include Jewish Voice for Peace’s Beth Miller, actress Cynthia Nixon, actor Kal Penn, educator Ms. Rachel, comedian The Kid Mero and others.
This committee — a mix of hyperlocal small business owners and activists as well as celebrities and authors — demonstrates yet another symbol of how Mamdani’s vision truly does encapsulate the city as a whole.
Eady’s poem is yet to be revealed in its entirety but while speaking with the New York Times, he shared what he had written so far:
New York, city of invention,
Roiling town, refresher
And re-newer,
New York, city of the real,
Where the canyons
Whisper in a hundred
Tongues,
New York,
Where your lucky self
Waits for your
Arrival,
Where there is always soil
For your root.
This is our time.
Mamdani’s journey has not been without some hiccups — such as the unpopular reappointment of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch — but the surge of energy behind the campaign stretching into his choices for myriad government offices has taken center stage.
Unlike Sanders, Mamdani won, so perhaps this incoming administration can prove to be a microcosm of what a left-leaning populist movement can achieve. Regardless of the outcome, what is undeniable is this is the beginning of something new in U.S. politics.
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Diego Ramos
Diego Ramos, ScheerPost Special Projects Editor and New York bureau chief, is a journalist from Queens, NY. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He has previously worked at BuzzFeed News and was managing editor of Annenberg News at USC. He’s covered and researched myriad topics including war, politics, psychedelic research and sports.