Mayor-elect Eric Adams was officially sworn in as the 110th Mayor of New York City shortly after the historic ball drop at Times Square minutes into New Years Day. Adams is the city’s second Black Mayor.
Among family and friends on the stage, Adams recited after the city clerk with one hand on a family bible and the other holding a picture of his late mother.
“Hope and prosperity,” said Adams earlier in the night when asked what his New Year’s wish for the city was. “We went through a very painful period and I’m just hoping that we all find the inner peace that we’re looking for.”
Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams recently decided to postpone their joint inauguration ceremony that was originally scheduled to be held at the King’s Theater in Brooklyn because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
Despite COVid concerns, herds of people showed up in-person, masked and behind fences, to celebrate the annual ball drop this year. One couple celebrated a birthday while another proposed marriage during the pre-show on New Year’s Eve.
According to the Times Square Alliance, the tradition stems from the period from 1896 to 1935, when The New York Times’ owner and publisher Adolph S. Ochs made a home for the newspaper at the Times Tower, which was the second tallest building in the city at the time. The newspaper moved in 1905, but not before creating the “New Year’s Eve spectacular” that Ochs staged to commemorate the building. 2022 will mark the 22nd time that Waterford Crystal, the guys who make the actual Ball, have participated in the event. The Ball is 12 feet in diameter, weighs 11,875 pounds, and is covered with a total of 2,688 crystal triangles, said Waterford Crystal.
“We are honored and thrilled that Mayor-elect Adams has chosen to be sworn in before the world in Times Square after the clock strikes midnight,” said Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris in a statement. “The New Year is a time to look forward to the future and we are looking forward to working with Mayor-elect Adams to continue the recovery of Times Square and the rest of our city.”
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here: bit.ly/amnews1