Once the newly elected mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, and his wife, Rama Duwaji, move into their new apartment in Astoria, which is rent-stabilised, they will no longer own the most politically symbolic house in the city, Gracie Mansion.
The Gracie Mansion is a wooden structure that is the oldest in New York.
Mamdani in a post made to Instagram on Monday, posted a photo of a miniature of the house that will be relocated, explaining that the structure is on display in the New York Botanical Garden.
He wrote to his wife Rama in his letter dated last week that he and his wife had gone to the Botanical Gardens in NY to see the train show, and that they had decided to move into Gracie Mansion in January.
According to the same post, he made this decision based on the consideration of security, as well as the necessity to remain focused on the policy agenda he had campaigned.
This was noted by Mamdani, who won the mayoralty running on the promise of affordability and housing security, indicating that he wants to dedicate all his attention to implementing the affordability agenda that New Yorkers elected me with.
All you need to know about Gracie Mansion
The Gracie Mansion is located at the intersection of East 88th Street and East End Avenue and the East River, with the landscaped grounds of Carl Schurz Park as its neighbours.
It is a unique yellow house, trimmed with white paint, constructed in the fashion of an 18th-century country home. Nowadays, it occupies more than 10,000 sq. ft. and has a blend of old historically maintained rooms and contemporary operational areas.
The current-day visitors have the opportunity to visit the mansion via group tours, which are provided on Mondays, and are allegedly costing $10.
The library is one of the most iconic rooms in the residence with a teal design that is monochromatic. Walls, carpets and furniture are boldly shaded, which forms the interior space in which there is a visual unity.
Some of the exhibited items include figurines of George Washington, which is an indication of the historical attachment of the house to the founding era of the country.
One culture that has existed in the mansion is that of children leaving their marks anywhere in the house. The daughter of the former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, cut her name, Caroline, on the library window, and the name still appears.
The dining room has a very complex wallpaper that is Zuber et Cie and was created in the 1820s.
The wallpaper, which was installed under the Koch administration, represents a stylised landscape garden, and was selected to reflect the patterns which could have existed in the time of Gracie.
The ballroom, which is also part of the Wagner Wing, is of pale blue colour with white crown moulding. It is commonly used in mayoral press conferences and receptions.
The best things about it are a gold convex mirror with a bald eagle figure on its top, which was added under the leadership of Bloomberg.
The most interesting and notable is the fireplace mantle which is said to have been purchased by the property where Alexander Hamilton died in 1804 after he was fatally wounded in his duel with Aaron Burr. It was erected as room centrepiece in 1966.
There is also another room that has a bookcase that belonged to a military officer during the period of Revolutionary War. There were also a few other pieces of furniture such as a circular mahogany dining table and chairs which were the property of an offspring of Archibald Gracie.
A vintage telephone is sitting next to a notepad, decorative dish and a lamp in a smaller interior room. The foyer with tan-and-white striped wallpaper and painted faux-marble floors has a central compass rose pattern. It has a chandelier in its front, and a grandfather clock that was installed in 1942.
The yellow parlour is located almost at the foyer where a cannonball that was found at the location rests on the mantel.
What does Zohran Mamdani’s moving into Gracie Mansion mean?
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation currently owns Gracie Mansion and is operated by the Gracie Mansion Conservancy. It is also a member of the Historic House Trust.
It has five bedrooms, considerable entertaining rooms, and a view of the East River, which gives it a unique representation in the New York politics.
The house, even with its magnitude and prominence, incorporates some aspects of a less advanced age, which is reflected in the wooden structure, the fact that the detailing has preserved the appearance and the artifacts of the centuries-old.
To Mamdani, who has been dwelling in the same apartment, which is a one-bedroom, in Queens for years and served the Astoria community in the State Assembly, the transition between a one-bedroom apartment and a historic estate is significantly different in terms of everyday life.
However, he has also made the move look like a response to serving his constituents better.
However, when he finally moves into the mansion, it signifies a fresh start of the current story of a structure that has undergone warring times, political changes and cultural re-invention.
