Confetti greets new mayor

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 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 amid 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 HindsRadix 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. Adams said he and his advisers are studying whether to expand vaccine mandates and plan to distribute face masks and rapid tests, as well as introduce a colorcoded system alerting New Yorkers to the current coronavirus threat level.

Adams is the city’s second Black mayor, after David Dinkins, who served from 1990 to 1993.

Arturo Holmes / Getty Images Eric Adams holds a picture of his late mother, Dorothy, as he is sworn in as the 110th mayor of New York City in Times Square shortly after the ball dropped at midnight, marking the arrival of the new year.