Mayor Adams Encourages NYC to Get Back to Life with Energy and Optimism

By Yehudit Garmaise

Mayor Eric Adams, who has exuded positivity and energy in his first weeks in office, has changed the tone of the city by encouraging New Yorkers to get back to life, work, and school, and not to “wallow in COVID.”

Nearly a third of tests in the city came back positive yesterday, however, “We have to learn to live with COVID,” said the mayor, who energetically starts his day a burst of energy and a vegan, green smoothie at 7am: a notable three hours and a half hours before former Mayor Bill de Blasio usually first stepped into the public eye every day.

Although the mayor meets privately with his health care professionals, he no longer provides the long daily briefings former Mayor de Blasio held online to provide reporters and the public with the latest COVID positivity rates, hospitalizations, deaths, vaccination rates and efforts to re-open the city.

Instead of talking about the city’s recovery, Mayor Adams, however, is helping the city to recover, by insisting that schools and businesses remain open and that the city’s employees return to their vacant offices.

“You cannot run New York City from home,” Mayor Adams told Wall Street investment bankers who were continuing to offer remote work options. “I need my city to get back to work.”

The mayor also refuses to provide remote options for the 80,000 city workers, many of whom, City Council Member Tiffany Caban told Bloomberg are “desperate for remote options.”

On Friday, some public schools had only 50% of their students in attendance, and teachers, parents and students have complained about not having a remote education option during the Omicron surge.

In fact, yesterday, students at Brooklyn Tech High School, a prestigious and selective public magnet high school in Fort Greene, together walked of out their classes to protest what they felt were unsafe conditions to prevent the spread of COVID.

In addition, several subway lines are not running, as 20% of the workforce of the Metropolitan Transportation (MTA) is out with COVID, nevertheless Mayor Adams says repeatedly, “We have to open up,” as he continues to promote vaccinations, booster shots, testing, and masking in public as ways to keep calm and carry on.

“We have to reshape our thinking of how we live with COVID,” said Adams, who insists that New York City can only return former pre-pandemic vibrancy if its residents make major attitude adjustments.

After the mayor expressed and promoted optimism and happiness, some less sunny New Yorkers even criticized him for his upbeat attitude.

“I just have a lot about which to be happy and grateful,” Adams simply responded.

“When a mayor has swagger, the city has swagger,” Adams said on his third day in office. “We’ve allowed people to beat us down so much that all we did was wallow in COVID.

Just yesterday, in fact, Gov. Hochul reported that she felt “a glimmer of hope” that COVID rates in state have peaked and are starting to decline.

“We no longer believed this is a city of swagger,” the mayor said. “This is a city of resiliency.”

“The mayor is saying, ‘We’re back,’” said Fordham political science professor Christina Greer. “Your leader is excited to show people that New York is the best.”