A Historic Election Meets a Century-Old Mix-Up: Why Zohran Mamdani’s Mayoral Number May Change

Zohran Mamdani’s recent election as New York City’s next mayor has captured national attention. At only thirty-four, he represents a new generation of leadership, and his election carries deep historical significance. He is the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first mayor of South Asian heritage, and the first New York mayor born on the African continent. For many New Yorkers, especially older residents who have witnessed the city evolve through decades of cultural and political change, his story reflects the city’s ongoing journey toward broader representation.

Yet as the excitement builds for his January 2026 swearing-in, an unexpected question has surfaced: Will he be recognized as New York’s 111th mayor, as originally announced, or does an overlooked historical detail make him the 112th?

The answer, as it turns out, stretches back more than three centuries and begins with a quiet discovery by a historian studying the early colonial era.

A Small Historical Error With Big Symbolic Implications

The matter of a mayor’s number might seem ceremonial, but for a city as old and storied as New York, those numbers carry meaning. They help mark eras of leadership, record political transitions, and anchor moments of civic history.

While researching early mayors and their roles in the economic activities of the seventeenth century, historian Paul Hortenstine uncovered a discrepancy that most scholars and officials had overlooked. His work led him deep into city archives, where he found records concerning Matthias Nicolls, an early mayor who served during New York’s Dutch and English transition period.