New York City Mayor Eric Adams pledged Monday to keep students in the classroom and restore order on the subway system as the new mayor faces the twin challenges of a surging coronavirus variant and rising crime.
The mayor was trying to alleviate concerns as some teachers call for a remote option given the omicron surge.
“I am keeping my schools open,” Mr. Adams, a Democrat who took over on Jan. 1, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
He said the classroom strategy includes increased testing, pointing to 1.5 million test kits that were divvied up to every school in the city in his first days in office.
Mr. Adams said he wants to alleviate virus testing pressures in general by teaching people to conduct PCR tests at home, rather than at centers where lines snake around the block.
He said New Yorkers will have to take individual responsibility for how they mitigate the impacts of the virus because the economy cannot shut down.
SEE ALSO: Eric Adams enters office as New York City mayor
“We have to live with COVID and modify our behavior,” he said. “It’s time to live with COVID and build systems around COVID. … Until then, the city has to operate.”
Mr. Adams also said he will deploy police officers into the subway system to restore order and “give a real, visible presence that the subway system is safe.”
He said law enforcement will be paired with mental health workers to help people who sleep on trains and platforms.
“That’s the combination we’re going to need to turn this subway system around,” the mayor said.
Mr. Adams is making a splash since taking the reins from Bill de Blasio right after the ball dropped in Times Square.
Besides a round of media hits, he reported an assault in progress while using the subway. He’s also having a laugh over a New York Times profile that said he might be the city’s most flamboyant mayor given his fashion tastes and tendency to stay out late “with the boys” but get up early with “the men.”
SEE ALSO: Adams witnesses brawl, calls 911 on first subway commute as mayor
“This city was missing our oomph, we were missing our excitement,” he said. “This is the place to be, and the mayor should personify that.”
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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