CityAndStateNY.com
January 10, 2022
“When a mayor has swagger, the city has swagger.” – New York City Mayor Eric Adams, talking about his leadership on his third day in office
HOCHUL’S FIRST STATE OF THE STATE
Eric Adams’ indoor inauguration ceremony was canceled due to the surging coronavirus. The new mayor opted to be sworn in after the ball dropped in Times Square instead, holding up a portrait of his late mother, Dorothy.
ADAMS’ FIRST WEEK
Eric Adams officially became the 110th mayor of New York City on Jan. 1, just minutes after the New Year’s ball drop in Times Square. And he wasted no time getting right to work. On his first day, Adams
took the subway to his office – and reported a crime in progress to police along the way. Though long retired from the beat, his officer instincts don’t seem to have gone away. Adams’ first challenge emerged quickly as he grappled with the decision on whether to keep public schools open
amid surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, particularly among children. He said the city would not return to remote learning and defended his position as teachers protested for remote options and lawmakers urged him to at least temporarily go virtual.
THE MEN OF RIKERS The crisis at Rikers Island, a jail complex that has been in decay and disarray for years, seemed to come to a head in 2021. The complex has seen a rising population, deteriorating conditions and a short supply of personnel. In 2021, 15 people died while incarcerated on – or shortly after leaving – Rikers. New York magazine commemorated their lives in its most recent issue.
Adams then appeared alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul to announce new efforts to address both crime and homelessness in the city’s subways, an early indication that the animosity that colored the previous governor and mayor’s relationship will have no place in the Adams administration. And in a further new development representing a shift from his predecessor, Adams greeted the city’s first major snowfall with a 6:45 a.m. press conference at a Department of Sanitation facility. No more late morning starts for the City Hall press corps it seems.
“So, sayonara, sucker!” – CNN co-host Andy Cohen, in an apparently drunken rant directed at former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shortly after the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square, via the Daily News
Hochul became the first woman to deliver a State of the State address in New York as she laid out her agenda for the year. Giving her speech in the Assembly chamber – a return to tradition and a change from her predecessor – Hochul highlighted a number of new initiatives, including a five-year, $25 billion dollar housing plan to build or preserve 100,000 affordable housing units, as well as 10,000 supportive housing units, a variety of proposals to address gun violence and a pledge to bring back cocktails to go. Overall, her policies and tone garnered praise from Democratic lawmakers, although some criticized her for not going far enough on progressive
ARTURO HOLMES, DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES; ALBANY CITY COURT/YOUTUBE
4
