When Zohran Mamdani steps into City Hall just after midnight on January 1, 2026, he’ll be taking the reins of New York City at a moment of both symbolic and practical transition. But there’s a twist to his inauguration that’s sending ripples through the city’s political and historical circles: contrary to official records, Mamdani isn’t the 111th mayor as everyone expected. According to a recent revelation by historian Paul Hortenstine, Mamdani will actually be the 112th mayor, correcting a centuries-old clerical error that has misnumbered every mayor since the 17th century.
Hortenstine, a public policy and history writer based in Washington D.C., stumbled upon the discrepancy while researching the ties between early New York City mayors and slavery. In the process, he uncovered archival documents referencing a second, nonconsecutive term served by Mayor Matthias Nicolls in 1674—a term that has been missing from the city’s official records ever since. “I would hope that the city takes the history of mayors very seriously,” Hortenstine told The New York Times. “This was in 1675. So then, when I later looked through the official list of the city, I noticed that they had missed this term.”
The omission of Nicolls’ second term has had a domino effect on the numbering of every subsequent mayor. That means Fiorella La Guardia, a legendary figure in city history, wasn’t the 99th mayor—he was the 100th. Mayor Eric Adams, who has frequently declared “I’m 110,” was actually the 111th. The misnumbering, it turns out, dates back to an 1841 Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York and was perpetuated in later government documents, as noted by the late historian Peter R. Christoph in a 1989 essay for the Record of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Christoph wrote, “Edward I. Koch is the 105th Mayor of New York. The City Of New York Official Directory says so. So does The New York Times. But they are wrong: He is the 106th. Not only is he misnumbered, but so is everyone else after Mayor No. 7. It is a mind-boggling thought: 99 mayors misnumbered — most of them gone to the grave, secure in the knowledge of their place in history, but all of them numerically out of whack. How could such a thing happen?”
Marybeth Ihle, a spokesperson for the New York Historical, confirmed that a preliminary search of the museum’s archives found three references to Nicolls’ 1674-1675 mayoralty in “The Iconography of Manhattan Island.” Ken Cobb, assistant commissioner of the city’s Department of Records, acknowledged the discrepancy but noted, “We’re the keepers of the records. We’re not the creators of the records. It’s a good question. Who noticed this discrepancy? Apparently, this historian did.”
The official city directory, known as the Green Book, does not list Nicolls’ second term, and the Department of Records has not launched any investigation into the matter. Yet there is precedent for such corrections: in 1937, Charles Lodwick, who served from 1694-1695, was inserted as the 21st mayor, bumping everyone else up a number. “Everyone jumped up a number and that’s been the way ever since,” Cobb explained. Nicolls himself was a significant figure—born in England in 1630, he was a lawyer, a slaveowner, and an official under British rule, with his family owning parts of Long Island.
As the city’s attention turns to the handover of power, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor-elect Mamdani met at Gracie Mansion for a crucial hour-long transition meeting on December 2, 2025. Accompanied by his Chief of Staff Elle Bisgaard Church and First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, Mamdani described the conversation as “typical” for a transition but meaningful. “I appreciated the conversation that I had with Mayor Adams and his team. We focused on how to make this as smooth as possible of a transition and how to continue to serve New Yorkers,” Mamdani told reporters outside Gracie Mansion, as reported by the New York Post. Adams, for his part, emphasized the importance of continuity, saying, “What I must do is show what I have accomplished.”
Mamdani, at 34, is not only making history through the mayoral numbering saga but also through his political identity. Elected as a democratic socialist, he joins a new wave of progressive leaders in major U.S. cities. Seattle, for example, also elected a democratic socialist mayor, Katie Wilson, 43, whose platform closely mirrors Mamdani’s. Both leaders advocate for policies such as free child care, free public buses, rent freezes, and even government-run grocery stores. “I think these are the two examples on City of Yes and containerization,” Mamdani said, referencing his intention to keep some of Adams’ key programs, particularly those related to rezoning and waste management. He also praised Commissioner Jessica Tish for her work in reducing crime across the five boroughs, confirming she would be retained in his administration.
The progressive agendas of Mamdani and Wilson have sparked strong reactions across the political spectrum. In an opinion piece for USA Today, columnist Ingrid Jacques described their election as “baffling,” warning that “America’s warming to anti-capitalist ideals is alarming to say the least.” She cited Mamdani’s own words at a 2021 Young Democratic Socialists of America conference, where he said, “socialists like himself ‘firmly believe in’ the ‘end goal of seizing the means of production’—something he admitted may not be popular at the moment but nevertheless deserved to be promoted.” Former President Donald Trump, who actively campaigned against Mamdani, labeled him a “communist lunatic,” although Mamdani prefers the term “democratic socialist.”
This political tension was underscored by a congressional resolution passed in November 2025, denouncing socialism by a vote of 285-98, with 86 Democrats joining the Republican majority. The resolution, as detailed in a press release from Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Florida, outlined the “most brutal crimes committed by socialist regimes in the Soviet Union, China, Cambodia, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.” The specter of economic instability was invoked, with Jacques pointing to Argentina’s 148% inflation rate in 2023 as a cautionary tale. Yet, a recent poll from The Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports found that 51% of young Americans aged 18-39 would like to see a democratic socialist in the White House—a sign of shifting generational attitudes.
Despite the controversy, Mamdani’s approach to the transition has emphasized pragmatism and continuity alongside his progressive ambitions. “I’ve obviously made my critiques clear,” he said, “I also think that there are good things that this administration has done.” He’s pledged to retain and build upon programs that have proven effective, all while charting a new course that aligns with his democratic socialist principles.
As for the mayoral numbering error, the Adams administration has indicated it will leave the issue for historians and the incoming administration to address. “I think we will leave this issue for historians and—for a change—the next administration,” said Randy Mastro, Adams’ first deputy mayor, when asked if City Hall would recognize Nicolls’ full place in history. A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to requests for comment.
For now, New Yorkers can expect that, when Zohran Mamdani takes the oath of office, it will mark not just a new political era but also a long-overdue correction in the city’s historical record. The city’s mayors—past, present, and future—are finally being counted as they should be, even if it took 350 years and a curious historian to set the record straight.
