Mayor-elect Eric Adams will postpone his New Year’s Day inauguration ceremony given a surge in coronavirus cases driven by the omicron variant, he announced.
The ceremony — which would also swear in Brad Lander as comptroller and Jumaane Williams as public advocate — was slated to take place at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre on Jan. 1.
The three elected officials said Tuesday, December 21, 2021, that it will be postponed to a yet-to-be-determined date given the recent spike in coronavirus cases.
“…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, Brad Lander, and Jumaane Williams wrote in a joint statement. “After consulting with public health experts, we have decided that our joint inauguration ceremony will be postponed to a later date in order to prioritize the health of all who were planning to attend, cover, and work on this major event.”
Adams, Lander, and Williams had first planned the ceremony, which is usually held at City Hall as an homage to Brooklyn, given that all three citywide leaders hail from the borough.
They planned to fill the 3,000-seat venue with family, community leaders, and other select New Yorkers, who would have been required to show proof of vaccination.
The event is not the first in New York City to be shut down by the recent surge in coronavirus.
New York state has broken its new positive COVID case count record three days in a row, with another 22,478 people testing positive on Sunday — 12,404 of which who live in New York City, according to data.
The omicron wave has also led several Broadway shows to cancel individual performances and the Radio City Rockettes to halt all remaining performances.
Adams, Lander, and Williams said they hope to reschedule the inauguration in the next few weeks.
“…We look forward to getting together in person with our loved ones, colleagues, and well-wishing New Yorkers to honor this great democratic tradition, and to thank all those who have made it possible, at a safer time in the weeks ahead,” they wrote. “Health and safety must come first. We encourage all New Yorkers to get vaccinated, get boosted, and get tested. That is our pathway out of this pandemic, and we will come out of it together.”
