In pictures: Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as mayor of New York City in an abandoned subway station

New York has inaugurated mayors in City Hall chambers, on courthouse steps and under very official-looking ceilings, but never quite like this.

Just after midnight yesterday, on January 1, Zohran Kwame Mamdani officially became New York City’s 112th mayor inside a long-abandoned subway station, kicking off his term with a ceremony that felt like New York myth-making. The unconventional plans were made public in advance, but seeing them actually unfold beneath the tiled walls and flickering station lights was something else entirely.

The midnight oath was the first beat of a full inauguration day that later unfolded above ground with a public ceremony and Broadway-style street celebration. But the subterranean moment, which was attended by a tight circle of family, allies and city officials, was the tone-setter.

Below, some of the best images from the occasion: