Mayor Bill de Blasio says NYC's New Year's Eve celebration will go on

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city's annual New Year's Eve celebration is moving ahead without additional alterations and incoming Mayor Eric Adams will be sworn in at the event.

De Blasio, who will end his two-term tenure at the event, said the event has been limited to 15,000. It normally draws hundreds of thousands to Times Square to watch the ball drop live to bring in the New Year.

"Everyone who's going to be, it's going to be outdoors, vaccination only, masks required, socially distanced," de Blasio told NBC's Today. "But we want to show that we're moving forward and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this. It's really important to not give up in the face of this."

De Blasio said decisions around the New Year's Eve celebration have been made with the city's healthcare team and he believes the masking and limited crowd size along with proof of vaccination status will be enough to keep people safe.

"Our healthcare leadership believes this is the right way to do it," de Blasio said. "Our colleagues at the Times Square Alliance, they believe adamantly, and I agree with them, we've got to send a message to the world -- New York City's open, our schools are coming back Monday, full strength."

One of those signs will be seeing Adams taking his oath of office at the event.

"Times Square has long been synonymous with the New Year -- a place of excitement, renewal, and hope for the future," Adams said, according to WNBC-TV. "These are the same themes that animated my campaign and will inform my mayoralty, as I prepare to lead the city out of this challenging period.

"I am deeply humbled to officially take the oath of office at this iconic occasion, and to participate in the transfer of leadership that is a cornerstone of our democracy."

Adams, a former New York Police captain and Brooklyn Borough president, will use his family's Bible to be sworn in as mayor. He will be the second African American to run the nation's largest city. David Dinkins was the first when he served from 1990 to 1993.