Featured Image Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Topics: Zohran Mamdani, US News, Politics
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Zohran Mamdani, US News, Politics
Ahead of being 'sworn in' as New York City's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani and his wife will flee their one-bedroom apartment in Queens.
Despite being born in Africa - and the first Muslim mayor of South Asian heritage to assume the position - the 34-year-old spent a large proportion of his younger years in a considerably-sized well-appointed faculty apartment in Morningside Heights.
More recently, however, he and wife Rama Duwaji - New York City's first ever Gen Z first lady, at just 28 - lived together in their rental apartment in Astoria, Queens. The couple are estimated by experts to have paid over $2,300 a month for the 800 square feet one-bed.
However, as part of his new role, Mamdani was invited to give up his snug apartment - though, some expected that, given his famously humble political perspective, he might remain there.
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Interestingly, however, the mayor-elect this week confirmed that the couple will be relocating - more specifically, to Gracie Mansion.
Confirming the January move in an Instagram post, Mamdani said he and Duwaji would 'miss much' about their home in Astoria, Queens.
"Cooking dinner side by side in our kitchen," he began. "Sharing a sleepy elevator ride with our neighbours in the evening, hearing music and laughter vibrate through the walls of the apartment."
Sharing a snap of a model of the mansion at the New York Botanical Garden’s holiday train show this week, Mamdani wrote in the caption: "Saw our new home!"
For those unfamiliar with the prestigious property, this describes the staggering 18th century residence purpose-built for the city's mayor.
The $100 million estate was built all the way back in 1799 by the merchant Archibald Gracie, and currently stands on East 88th Street and East End Avenue, in Yorkville.
Gracie Mansion describes a colossal 12,855 square feet house, initially constructed as a private residence before being allotted for administrative accommodation. In 1942, it became the official residence of New York's mayor.
In the statement, Democratic socialist Mamdani explained: "This decision came down to our family’s safety and the importance of dedicating all of my focus on enacting the affordability agenda New Yorkers voted for."
The first mayor to take up the residence here was Fiorello H. LaGuardia, famed for having attempted to rename it Gracie Farm.
Following in his footsteps were the likes of Bill de Blasio - who previously gushed, 'it is a good contemplative place, when you need quiet time, thinking time, it offers that' and Edward I. Koch.
Though, the latter still also held on to his rent-controlled apartment in Greenwich Village at the time.
Michael R. Bloomberg previously declined his invite to Gracie Mansion, opting to stay put at his nearby even more luxurious townhouse, only using the property to house meetings.