Zohran Mamdani driven to NYC inauguration by taxi driver who joined hunger strike with him

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: On Thursday, New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, started his term with a deeply symbolic moment: Richard Chow, a taxi driver he once joined on a hunger strike, drove him to City Hall for his inauguration.

It had been over four years since they had stood side by side, protesting the crushing debt burden facing cab drivers. Now, one was behind the wheel, and the other was stepping into the city’s top office.

The scene reflected Mamdani's journey from grassroots activism to becoming the city’s mayor, highlighting his commitment to working-class solidarity and progressive politics.

From hunger strike to historic NYC mayoral inauguration

In 2021, Mamdani, then a New York State Assembly member, participated in a 15-day hunger strike outside City Hall alongside taxi driver Richard Chow and other members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. They demanded relief for cab drivers struggling under overwhelming debt caused by predatory lending tied to the medallion crisis.

Chow, whose brother reportedly died by suicide amid financial strain from medallion debt, became a vocal supporter of Mamdani’s mayoral bid and campaigned with him in the 2025 election.

“I’m very happy,” Chow told City & State NY at the inauguration. “Congratulations to him.”

Thursday, a little more than four years after the hunger strike, Chow dropped Mamdani off at City Hall to be sworn in as mayor.

Zohran Mamdani’s early political career and grassroots support

When Mamdani first entered politics, he joined Chow and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance in demanding debt relief for drivers. Their persistent activism eventually drew attention from then-Mayor Bill de Blasio and Senator Chuck Schumer, who pushed for additional funding.

“What I will go through pales in comparison to what Richard is going to go through and what so many other drivers are going to go through,” Mamdani told Mother Jones at the time.

Zohran Mamdani celebrated the end of the 15-day hunger strike with Richard Chow and other taxi drivers in 2021 (@SiegelNYDN/X)

He added, “The face of this hunger strike are people who have ruined their bodies for the city. Sitting in a chair for up to 16 hours a day, developing all sorts of complications from the fact that they sit for that long. The fact that they do not have bathrooms available. The fact that they are forever trying to find any kind of parking just to get lunch, to get dinner.”

Over the last year, Chow appeared at Mamdani’s events and used social media to endorse the 34-year-old candidate, calling him a “hero” and thanking him for “saving our lives.”