Zohran Mamdani ditches car, opts for subway ride on first day as New York City mayor
Mayor Mamdani takes the subway from Astoria on first day in officepic.twitter.com/ypTN3BpTvz
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) January 2, 2026
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, marked his first day on the job by choosing a simple and direct start. On his first morning as the city’s 112th mayor, he skipped official transport and took the subway from his Queens neighborhood.
Mamdani began his first full workday by leaving the apartment, which he shares with his wife, and heading straight for public transit. A short video capturing the moment quickly spread online, drawing attention to his down-to-earth nature.
Zohran Mamdani begins first day in office with a ride on the subway
A 1-minute-and-26-second video circulating on X (formerly Twitter) shows Mayor Zohran Mamdani starting his first day in office with a subway ride. Wrapped up against the cold and appearing to fight off a mild cold, Mamdani steps out of his Astoria apartment wearing a black coat, with members of his team nearby. His official car is visible outside, but he chooses not to use it.
The group walks briskly to the station, with Mamdani chatting with the team along the way on his Manhattan-bound train. Inside the compartment, he stood quietly in a corner. During the ride, two French tourists, puzzled by the attention around him, approached Mamdani. He then smiled and introduced himself simply as 'he new mayor of New York.'
Well, the young Democrat is not the first NYC mayor to use the subway to connect with people. Eric Adams also rode the subway on his first day in office. Former mayors Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg used public transit as well.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani starts term with focus on housing reform
On his first day in office, Mayor Zohran Mamdani took several major steps on housing and urban development. He announced three executive orders aimed at addressing long-standing housing issues in the city.
- The first order brings back the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Mamdani said the office will focus on resolving tenant complaints and holding landlords accountable for unsafe and poor living conditions.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces 3 Executive Orders:
— Mamdani Watch (@MamdaniWatch) January 1, 2026
✅ The city will intervene if your landlord doesn’t manage your property well
✅ Creation of a LIFT Taskforce (Land Inventory Fast Track)
✅ Creation of a SPEED Task Force (Streamlining procedures for equitable development) pic.twitter.com/nT0e32EhPJ
- The second order sets up a new LIFT task force. Mamdani said the group will review city-owned land to identify locations where housing can be built more quickly. He added that the task force will complete its review and release a list of possible housing sites by July 1.
- The third order sets up a SPEED task force to reduce approval delays and speed up housing projects.
