By Ilana Siyance
Eric Adams, the former Brooklyn Borough President and ex-police captain, was sworn in as the 110th mayor of NYC after midnight at the New Year’s Eve celebration in Manhattan’s Times Square. Moments after the ball dropped, and entering the center stage to be proclaimed the new mayor, Adams called out, “New York is back”.
Michael Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor, gave his stamp of approval for the newly inaugurated mayor of NYC. “It’s a new year and a new day for New York! We are all rooting for @NYCMayor as he takes on the best job in the world. I’ve never been more optimistic about New York City’s future,” tweeted Bloomberg.
As per the Post, the billionaire who owns a namesake media empire, also posted the statement on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, all featuring a photo of Bloomberg and Adams standing together. The Jan. 1 posts made no reference to the city’s outgoing mayor, Bill de Blasio.
Despite all the optimism though, Adams has a full plate in front of him and won’t have any time to waste in tackling Omicron, an extremely contagious variant of COVID-19. “COVID is a formidable opponent and it continues to evolve, and we must pivot and evolve with it, but you can’t do it viewing yourself from within the crisis,” Adams said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. Adams has said that he will work to keep the city from shutting down again. “If we close down our city, it is as dangerous as COVID,” Adams said. “That’s what our focus must be. So that proper balance of safety [and] keeping our economy operated is going to allow us to get through.”
NYC has once again become the epicenter of the pandemic, recording more than 40,000 new COVID-19 cases in just the last two days, as per MSN. Asked about the super-contagious bug, the 61-year-old Democrat said, “We’ve spent $11 trillion on COVID and we don’t have another $11 trillion. So our lives can’t be based on what’s the new variant. No. We have to figure out: how do we adjust?” The newly minted mayor will also need to take on a spike in murders and shootings, as well as trying to get the Big Apple’s economy back on its feet.
“Happy New Year, New York! I’m so excited about the future of the greatest City in the world, and humbled to be your Mayor. Tonight, let’s (safely!) celebrate,” Adams tweeted. “Tomorrow the work begins!”
