Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Eric Adams was sworn in as New York City's mayor just after the ball dropped in Times Square to signal the start of the new year Saturday.
In his first speech after taking office, Adams said New Yorkers should make it a New Year's resolution to "not be controlled by crisis" referring mostly to the COVID-19 pandemic as the city continues to face rising cases amid the spread of the Omicron variant.
"We have lived through two years of continuous crisis and that insults our very nature as New Yorkers. The crisis tells us that it is in charge. That it is in control. The crisis wants to tell us when we can be happy, when we can be sad, when we can work and how we can enjoy our city. The crisis wants to tell us how to live," he said. "But there is one thing everyone knows about New Yorkers: We don't like anyone telling us what to do."
He added that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is an example of "not letting the crisis control you" and that other actions like attending Broadway shows and returning to offices "are declarations of confidence that our city is our own."
A 61-year-old Democrat, Adams is the city's 110th mayor and just the second Black mayor in the city's history.
He was sworn in holding a framed photograph of his mother, Dorothy, as he placed his hand on a family Bible.
"New York is back," he said as he left the stage.
A retired New York Police Department captain, who made public safety a focus of his campaign, Adams witnessed a street fight while awaiting a train to City Hall and reported the incident to 911.
"I have an assault in progress -- three males," he told the dispatcher before providing his name. "Adams, Mayor Adams."
