De Blasio: ‘No more shutdowns’ as NYC faces spike

NEW YORK » New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he’s committed to keeping the city open as it grapples with a huge spike in coronavirus cases.

The Democrat said Tuesday that New York can’t see schools and businesses close again like they did when COVID-19 first hit the city in 2020.

De Blasio has faced questions over the past week about whether he would reinstate closures as the omicron variant surges in the city.

“Adamantly I feel this: No more shutdowns. We’ve been through them,” de Blasio said at a virtual news conference Tuesday. “They were devastating. We can’t go through it again.”

De Blasio, in the waning days of his term as mayor, will decide by Christmas whether the annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will continue as planned. The event was small and socially distanced last year but de Blasio had hoped to hold it this year at “full strength.” That was before reports of COVID-19 cases ramped up again.

While the fate of the outdoor New Year’s Eve event remained up in the air, De Blasio’s successor Eric Adams postponed his inauguration ceremony, scheduled for Jan. 1 indoors at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre.

The mayor-elect issued a statement Tuesday saying that the ceremony would be rescheduled for a later date “to prioritize” the health of attendees, staff and reporters.

“It is clear that our city is facing a formidable opponent in the omicron variant of COVID-19, and that the spike in cases presents a serious risk to public health,” Adams said.

Two other Democratic officials, the city’s Comptroller-elect Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, were also to participate in the ceremony and co-signed Adams’ statement announcing its postponement. Williams has been quarantining at home after recently testing positive for COVID-19.