(AP) — New York City’s new mayor, Eric Adams, rode the subway to City Hall for his first day on the job, hours after being sworn into office Saturday in a Times Square ceremony as the nation’s largest city rang in the new year.
During his New Year’s Day commute, the former New York City police captain chatted with reporters and New Yorkers on the train and even called 911 to report a fight after witnessing two men tussling near the subway station.
Adams, 61, faces the immense challenge of pulling the city out of the pandemic, taking office as the city is grappling with record numbers of COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant.
As confetti continued to drift across Times Square, Adams recited his oath of office. Associate Justice Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix of the state Supreme Court’s appellate division swore Adams in as he placed one hand on a family Bible and his other held a photograph of his mother, Dorothy, who died in 2020.
He made no remarks nor took questions from reporters, but appeared on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” shortly after being sworn in.
He told Seacrest he had a few parties to attend but that he would “be up early in the morning, working for the city of New York.”
Hours later, Adams walked from his Brooklyn brownstone to ride the subway to City Hall, accompanied by a throng of reporters.
While waiting for his train, Adams saw two men fighting on the sidewalk below the train platform, with a third man trying to intervene.
The new mayor called 911 to report “an assault in progress.” The fight ended and two of the men left by the time two police patrol cars arrived. Officers spoke to the remaining man but stayed in their car, and Adams told reporters he would have investigated more had he been the officer on the scene.
On New Year’s Eve, shortly before he took the oath, Adams appeared briefly on the main stage in Times Square to affirm the city’s resiliency.
“Even in the midst of COVID, in the midst of everything that we’re going through, this is a country where hope and opportunities is always, ever present,” he said earlier in the night.
“It’s just great when New York shows the entire country of how we come back,” he said. “We showed the entire globe what we’re made of. We’re unbelievable. This is an unbelievable city and, trust me, we’re ready for a major comeback because this is New York.”
Adams, the former Brooklyn borough president, has struck a more business-friendly, moderate stance than his predecessor but describes himself as a practical and progressive mayor who will “get stuff done.” He’s the city’s second Black mayor, after David Dinkins, who served from 1990 to 1993, and the 110th mayor of New York City.
