On busy 1st day, NYC mayor urges resiliency against pandemic
CTV
New York City's new mayor, Eric Adams, pledged Saturday to steer the nation's largest city out of the pandemic by drawing on the resiliency of its people and promising a government that works better, even if it's not radically different.
Hours after being sworn into office in Times Square as the city rang in the new year, Adams used his inaugural address to promise more efficiency, invoke New Yorkers' reputation for toughness, and urge the city's nearly 9 million residents to make a New Year's resolution that their lives not be controlled by the pandemic.
"Getting vaccinated is not letting the crisis control you," Adams said at City Hall. "Enjoying a Broadway show. Sending your kids to school. Going back to the office. These are declarations of confidence that our city is our own."
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.
The city has also been facing a rise in violent crime, particularly in shootings and killings, that is part of part of a national trend in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.