Eric Adams Swearing-In Moved Back to Shabbos — in Times Square

After moving his inauguration ceremony to Motzoei Shabbos to accommodate his Shabbos-observant supporters and later canceling the event altogether due to the Omicron outbreak, Eric Adams will now be sworn in as mayor of New York City in an even flashier but less Shabbos-friendly fashion: shortly after the ball drops to bring in the new year in Times Square.

Adams, the incoming mayor of New York City, had first moved his inauguration on Jan. 1 — a Saturday — from noon to the evening out of respect for Shabbos observers.

The swearing-in ceremony usually takes place at noon on the first day of the year in the plaza outside City Hall in downtown Manhattan and draws thousands of spectators. Holding his inauguration after nightfall when Shabbos is over was supposed to allow observant Jews to also take part in the festivities.

Adams was to formally take the reins from the current mayor, Bill de Blasio, at midnight on New Year’s Eve during a private ceremony.

That swearing-in was to take place at the Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Now, however, that plan was scrapped due to the large numbers of Omicron cases currently spreading through New York City.

{Matzav.com}