Less than 24 hours after throngs of ecstatic supporters poured into Manhattan for his history-making inauguration, Zohran Mamdani began his first full day of work with a routine familiar to many New Yorkers: trudging to the subway from a cramped apartment. The 34-year-old democratic socialist, whose victory was hailed as a watershed moment for the progressive movement, has now begun the task of running the nation’s largest city: signing orders, announcing appointments, facing questions from the press — and answering for some of the actions he took in his first hours. When a pair of French tourists, confused by the hubbub, approached Mamdani, he introduced himself as “the new mayor of New York.”

Less than 24 hours after throngs of ecstatic supporters poured into Manhattan for his history-making inauguration, Zohran Mamdani began his first full day of work with a routine familiar to many New Yorkers: trudging to the subway from a cramped apartment. The 34-year-old democratic socialist, whose victory was hailed as a watershed moment for the progressive movement, has now begun the task of running the nation’s largest city: signing orders, announcing appointments, facing questions from the press — and answering for some of the actions he took in his first hours. When a pair of French tourists, confused by the hubbub, approached Mamdani, he introduced himself as “the new mayor of New York.”