Eric Adams, the 61-year-old former NYPD captain and Brooklyn Borough President, was sworn in as New York City’s second Black mayor and 110th mayor overall in a ceremony in Times Square shortly after midnight Saturday, the New York Times reports. Adams faces some serious challenges as the city’s economic recovery from the Spring 2020 COVID-19 outbreak killed tens of thousands of New Yorkers continues to be hampered by the virus’s reemergence and the Omicron strain.
Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the first Black man to hold the position, was sworn in at a private ceremony, taking over for Cy Vance during the office’s intensifying investigation into the Trump crime syndicate, ABC News reports. The Trump Organization and its Chief Financial Officer Alan Weisselberg are already facing trial for tax evasion while a perilous decision to charge the Orange Kingpin himself for tax and bank fraud looms.