I took this picture in Times Square in 2000 (I went again in 2001 to satisfy the purist in me). The most fun about partying into the New Year in Times Square is all the cool people from around the world that you meet there. With the mild weather we’ve been having I can easily understand the the city is concerned about crowds as there’s no reason to stay home.
Hundreds of thousands of revelers were expected to flood Times Square on Sunday evening for a celebration that will attempt to wash away thoughts of world conflict with music, glitz and celebrity star power.
With relatively warm temperatures in the low 40s expected, this year could be a record-breaker on several counts, organizers said. Crowds are expected to pack Broadway all the way to Central Park.
An unprecedented 3.5 tons of confetti will be dumped on the crowd during the evening. Visitors are expected to drop tens of millions of dollars on food, booze and souvenirs, capping what some are calling the city’s busiest tourism year ever.
The gathering used to be pretty boring in fact, with nothing to do but drink your smuggled booze (no alcohol allowed, BTW) until the ball fell. Now that the entertainment industry has locked its fangs into it (in conjunction with Times Square turning into Disneyland), the Ball Drop at Times Square has become a major staged event with speeches, shows, and celebrities all evening.
The weather has been so mild the city has been a zoo every evening. Here’s a shot of the packed sidewalk in front of Macy’s Christmas windows last night.
Looks like a great place to stay away from. For all kinds of reasons.
It just amazes me that this party hasn’t been nuked yet, especially given how porous our ports and borders are.
Those pictures only reinforce my view that cities should be worked in and visited, but nobody should be allowed to actually live in them. Horrifiying.
City living is an acquired taste. Then again, many New Yorkers avoid this kind of thing like the plague. In addition, not every street is as congested as this. The denisty falls off pretty rapidly as you move away.
BTW, in the New Year’s Eve power vacuum left by Dick Clark there will be even more circus in the Square than usual.
Hello. It seems to me a very interesting article follow thus.
it’s fun to do this once, looks great on tv but being down there for at least 6 hours and not much freedom of movement…even going to the bathroom is a challenge. Once the ball drops you are invited by the NYPD to quietly clear the area. I’ll go back once I get invited to one of those fancy condos/hotels overlooking timesquare…
The city was a zoo for the past 3 weeks, it’s the weak $ combined with the mild weather – great for retailers.
According to reports, over 1 million people thronged in Times Square this time to greet the New Year.
We went to Times Square this year (2006-2007) with our friends Skip and Kathy White, and we had a blast. Would I do it again? In a New York minute!