The 'cool girl' about to get the keys to Gracie Mansion: First Lady Rama Duwaji on her role in mayor Zohran Mamdani's New York
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.
It's a far cry from the cozy one-bedroom $2,300-a-month apartment in Astoria which Duwaji and Mamdani are leaving behind, with its leaky plumbing, pot plants and carefully curated carpets.
Michael Bloomberg - who never lived in the mayoral mansion - spent $7 million on its renovation, while Bill de Blasio, finding the residence to be more of a museum than a home, accepted a $65,000 donation of furniture from West Elm.
Yet, without Bloomberg's billions to spend, Duwaji and Mamdani may find their ability to mold their new home to their tastes somewhat limited.
The property is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and is operated by the Gracie Mansion Conservancy, which controls what modifications can be made.
Duwaji can, however, make the most of the art rotation, which de Blasio's family enjoyed: works by Japanese artist Toko Shinoda and New York City collage artist Baseera Khan adorned the walls throughout his tenure.
And she may be wise to learn some lessons from de Blasio's now-estranged wife, Chirlane McCray.
The role of first lady of New York City is ill-defined, and usually low key
Gracie Mansion is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and is operated by the Gracie Mansion Conservancy
Duwaji may be wise to learn some lessons from de Blasio's now-estranged wife, Chirlane McCray (pictured)
McCray, by far the most influential First Lady in the history of New York City, occupied Gracie Mansion from January 1, 2014, until December 31, 2021.
She had met de Blasio in City Hall, when they were both working for David Dinkins, the first black mayor of the city.
McCray was the first to employ her own staff, with critics condemning the $2 million spent on employing her team of 14. But the feisty former speechwriter was unrepentant, launching an $850 million mental health initiative and championing the rights of women and minorities.
'I want to be clear that my job is to make systemic change,' she told the New York Times in 2017. 'There's demands, there's expectations, there's traditions and then there's what I want to do.'
McCray was constantly criticized for her activities, with opponents asking why New York needed a tag team in Gracie Mansion.
It was bruising, insiders told the paper.
'That first year was hard,' said Rebecca Katz, who worked as an advisor to the pair. 'There were so many tongues wagging about what her role would be. Was she the "co-mayor"? There was sexism, there was racism that she faced and when you actually looked at the work, it was pretty impressive.'
Duwaji, like McCray, wears her political causes with pride.
'Speaking out about Palestine, Syria, Sudan - all these things are really important to me,' she told The Cut. 'I'm always keeping up to date with what's going on, not just here but elsewhere. It feels fake to talk about anything else when that's all that's on my mind; all I want to put down on paper.
'Everything is political; it's the thing that I talk about with Z and my friends, the thing that I'm up to date with every morning, which is probably not great for my mental health. It's what I talk about when I check on my family back home.'
Duwaji's family – originally from Damascus, Syria – relocated to Dubai when she was nine. Her father, a software engineer and mother, a doctor, continue to live in the United Arab Emirates.
With an international upbringing and outlook, she has so far shown little appetite for domestic issues and may steer clear of openly lobbying.
Instead, Duwaji has let her look do much of the talking. For election night, she wore a black top by Palestinian designer Zeid Hijazi - which immediately sold out - and a skirt by New York-born Ulla Johnson.
Fashion, for Duwaji, is far from frivolous – it's a political statement and her willingness to embrace this is perhaps a sign of some not-so-soft diplomacy to come. In being seen, Duwaji is well aware, she may also be heard.
'It's nice to have a little bit of analysis on the clothes,' she said, adding that she hopes to use her platform - she now has 1.6 million followers on Instagram - to highlight other creatives.
'There are so many artists trying to make it in the city - so many talented, undiscovered artists making the work with no instant validation, using their last paycheck on material,' she told the magazine. 'I think using this position to highlight them and give them a platform is a top priority.'
It is certainly effective. Vogue recently proclaimed: 'Fall's Next Cool-Girl Haircut Is Officially the Rama.'
For election night, she wore a black top by Palestinian designer Zeid Hijazi - which immediately sold out - and a skirt by New York-born Ulla Johnson
Fashion, for Duwaji, is far from frivolous – it's a political statement and her willingness to embrace this is perhaps a sign of some not-so-soft diplomacy to come
'It's nice to have a little bit of analysis on the clothes,' she said
Duwaji is an artist and has provided illustrations for outlets like The New Yorker and the Washington Post
One of Duwaji's first acts as first lady will likely be to turn a room into her art studio.
More in demand than ever, she has previously provided illustrations for the likes of the BBC, The New Yorker and the Washington Post.
'I have so much work that I have planned out, down to the dimensions and the colors that I'm going to use and materials,' she told The Cut. 'Some of that has been slightly put on hold, but I'm absolutely going to be focused on being a working artist. I'm definitely not stopping that. Come January, it's something that I want to continue to do.'
Does this mean she will be a behind-the-scenes first lady? Perhaps she has observed McCray and seen that the risks of activism are too high. Or perhaps she calculates that the platform is hers for the taking.
'At the end of the day, I'm not a politician,' she said. 'I'm here to be a support system for Z and to use the role in the best way that I can as an artist.'
One thing is certain: come Thursday, she will be beside her husband.
For her part Duwaji considers the last few months, 'a temporary period of chaos.'
She added: 'I know it's going to die down.'
Time will tell, but with all eyes on 'Z' and the woman at his side, that's unlikely to happen anytime soon.
