Mamdani surprises couples at City Hall and officiates six weddings

Mayor Zohran Mamdani made an unexpected trip to the Manhattan Marriage Bureau last Thursday, stepping in to officiate weddings for six New York City couples who had arrived for their scheduled appointments. The visit, which came as he navigated the city’s cold snap and prepared to travel to Albany for budget pleas, was also an anniversary of sorts: he had married the artist Rama Duwaji at the same city clerk’s office almost exactly one year earlier.

An hour before their 10:30 a.m. ceremony, Matthew Cruz and Molly McGhee realized they had forgotten their marriage license. In 10-degree weather, Cruz pedaled an electric CitiBike back to their apartment in Brooklyn and returned just moments before the ceremony.

They had never met the mayor, but when he offered to officiate they said yes; Ms. McGhee recalled, “Are you kidding me?” and Mr. Cruz said, “It took me a full 45 seconds to get our rings out because I was shaking a little bit.” Ms.

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