The inauguration of Zohran Mamdani takes place at City hall in New York, Jan. 1, 2026. (Paola Chapdelaine/The New York Times) Whether Mayor Zohran Mamdani has the skills and good fortune to succeed in the so-called second-hardest job in America no one can yet say.

NEW YORK (AP) -- 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.