Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City’s next mayor has sparked national attention—not just for his historic win, but for a surprising question about his place in the city’s long mayoral lineage. At thirty-four, Mamdani becomes the city’s first Muslim mayor, its first South Asian mayor, and the first to be born on the African continent. For many longtime New Yorkers, his rise reflects the city’s continuing push toward broader representation.
Yet historians recently uncovered a detail that may change his official number. While Mamdani was initially announced as the 111th mayor, new research suggests he may actually be the 112th. Historian Paul Hortenstine found that Matthias Nicolls, long counted as New York’s sixth mayor, served two non-consecutive terms in the 1600s. By modern counting standards, each term should be numbered separately. Because that second term was never counted, every mayor afterward is technically off by one.
The correction would be purely symbolic and wouldn’t affect Mamdani’s role or authority. Still, for a leader already making history, the possibility of becoming the 112th mayor adds a unique footnote to his story. It also reminds New Yorkers that even centuries-old records sometimes need a second look.
