New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani revived a long-dormant City Hall tradition on Saturday by diving into a public pool in East Harlem to mark the opening of the city's 2026 outdoor pool season while dressed in a full suit and tie.
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Mamdani's suit-clad dive kicked off New York City's summer pool season, breaching the pool's dress code.
The mayor jumped into the Thomas Jefferson Pool on East 114th Street alongside Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura, becoming the first New York City mayor in more than a decade to take part in the ceremonial plunge. The New York Post noted that Mamdani technically violated pool rules by entering the water in formal attire.
The mayor later reposted the tabloid's story on X with a video of his dive, joking: “When they said ‘wear a suit,’ I just assumed…”
