'Highly recommended': Zohran Mamdani confirms shattafs have made it to Gracie Mansion

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has finally answered one of the more unusual questions surrounding his move into Gracie Mansion - did he actually install bidets in the mayoral residence?

The answer is yes.

Mamdani confirmed last week that the bathrooms at Gracie Mansion have been fitted with the fixtures, months after revealing that installing bidets, commonly known as shattaf across the Arab world, was among the changes he hoped to make after moving in.

The revelation came, fittingly, during a press conference about public toilets.

Mamdani was announcing the installation of 17 new modular bathrooms across New York City on 16 September when a reporter asked whether he had followed through on his own bathroom plans.

"By the way, did you ever put the bidets into Gracie Mansion?" the reporter asked.

"Yes, they're all there," Mamdani replied.

He also gave the new additions his seal of approval, describing them as "highly recommended" and pointing out that the attachments cost around $20.

The exchange revived a small but much-discussed detail from Mamdani's move into Gracie Mansion in January.

Shortly after moving into the official mayoral residence with his wife, Rama Duwaji, Mamdani revealed that he wanted to install bidets in its bathrooms.

The announcement attracted attention in the US, where bidets remain less commonplace than in many parts of the world.

But for many Arabs and Muslims, the idea was far less unusual.

The shattaf, sometimes called a handheld bidet or bidet spray, is a standard bathroom fixture across much of the Middle East and North Africa, where washing with water after using the toilet is commonplace. Similar fixtures are also widely used across South and Southeast Asia.

For Muslims, the practice also has a religious dimension, with cleansing with water after using the toilet traditionally associated with Islamic rules of personal hygiene.

Mamdani, who is Muslim and of Indian-Ugandan heritage, had therefore brought a bathroom custom familiar to millions of Muslims and people across the Global South into one of New York's most famous residences.

Rather than carrying out an elaborate renovation, however, Mamdani indicated that Gracie Mansion's toilets were fitted with inexpensive attachments.

Months after the mayor first floated the idea, New Yorkers now have their answer - the shattafs did indeed make it to Gracie Mansion.