A year ago today, Zohran Mamdani was preparing to take the plunge.

A state assemblyman, he was readying to dive into the Coney Island waves for the annual New Year's Day celebration, emerging from the frigid waters, still in his suit and tie, to declare: 'I'm freezing... your rent, as the next mayor of New York City.'

This time around, he has company.

Because, while Mamdani spent New Year's Day 2025 campaigning solo, he welcomes January 1, 2026, with a wife by his side as he was sworn in as the mayor of New York he predicted he would be.

And if excitement - and trepidation - about Mamdani's mayoral prospects has been steadily growing since his election November 4, interest in his bride has exploded.

Indeed Rama Duwaji, a glamorous illustrator who tied the knot with the 34-year-old mayor in February, is truly the talk of the town.

At 28, the Texas-born Syrian American is the youngest first lady in city history. She is the first to meet her husband online - on the dating app Hinge in 2021. And, just as her husband is the first Muslim to occupy his new role, she is the first to occupy hers.

Passionately political, she uses her art to call for an end to the suffering in Gaza and draw attention to the civil war in Sudan.

While Mamdani spent New Year's Day 2025 campaigning solo, he will welcome January 1, 2026, with a wife by his side as he's sworn in as the mayor of New York

Rama Duwaji, a glamorous illustrator who tied the knot with the 34-year-old mayor in February, is truly the talk of the town

At 28, the Texas-born Syrian American is the youngest first lady in city history

So, what does her move into Gracie Mansion mean?

'I think there are different ways to be first lady, especially in New York,' she told The Cut, describing the moment her husband won the primary as 'surreal.'

'When I first heard it, it felt so formal and like - not that I didn't feel deserving of it, but it felt like, me…?

'Now I embrace it a bit more and just say, "There are different ways to do it."'

That much is true. The role of first lady of New York City is ill-defined, and usually low key. It's not even known whether Mamdani's predecessor, Eric Adams, moved his girlfriend Tracey Collins into the mayor's official residence, Gracie Mansion, during his tenure or not.

Certainly, it's been many years since a woman with such a strong sense of style lived in the sprawling home. Built in 1799 it is now one of the oldest surviving wood structures in Manhattan.

The decor is decidedly dated: the parlor features garish yellow walls and an ungainly chandelier, while heavy damask drapes cover the windows. Boldly patterned carpets cover the floors, and ornate French wallpaper from the 1820s, featuring a kitsch landscape scene and installed under the Edward Koch administration, cover the dining room.