Adams Cancels Inauguration Gala in Latest Sign of Omicron Surge
The New York Times
Mayor Bill de Blasio and his successor, Eric Adams, are weighing difficult decisions as the city faces another troubling wave of coronavirus cases.
It was billed as an inauguration ritual steeped in symbolism: Eric Adams, the second Black man to be elected mayor of New York, would be sworn in at Kings Theater, a lavishly restored cultural icon in Brooklyn, whose residents, he said, chose “one of their own” to lead the city’s recovery.
But the event will now serve as a less welcome symbol, reflecting the rising concerns about the rampant spread of the Omicron variant.
Mr. Adams, who takes office on Jan. 1, canceled the ceremony on Tuesday, one of several developments that underscored how the latest wave of coronavirus cases has thrown New York City’s recovery into doubt and shifted priorities as the year ends.
