New Year ball readied for big night
Nick Bonavita, left, of Brooklyn and Felix Ortega. of Staten island, with Landmark Signs, install a panel as part of the 288 sparkling new Waterford Crystal triangles featuring this year's "Let There Be Friendship" design on the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball. (Dec. 27, 2011) Credit: Photo by Craig Ruttle
High above Times Square Tuesday, workers updated the New Year's Eve Ball for 2012 by adding 288 new triangular crystal panels.
The new panel design from Waterford Crystal represents people holding hands in unity for this year's "Let There Be Friendship" theme, part of a series of six designs, starting with "Let There Be Light" in 2008. The final theme, "Let There Be Peace," will be featured for 2013.
Waterford and the Times Square Alliance, the business improvement district of Times Square, donated 195 "Hope for Healing" crystals to the September 11 Memorial Museum for the 10th-year anniversary of 9/11.
These panels, displayed on the ball in 2001, are engraved with the names of rescue organizations, countries, airline flights and buildings from which people died in the attacks.
"Ten years ago, on the cusp of 2002, just months after the 9/11 attacks, the crystal that dropped on that evening held the message of hope for the world," said Alice Greenwald, director of the September 11 Museum. "These crystals allow us in our collection to really fulfill our dual mission, which is of commemoration for the victims and educating for the future."
A team of four workers Tuesday also hauled a big, light bulb-filled metal "2" up a flight of steep stairs and scaffolds to replace the final digit in last year's "2011" sign. Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment will give the equipment a final test run Friday.
The ball-drop tradition began in England's Greenwich observatory in 1833 as a daily event so ship captains could use it to synchronize their chronometers. It wasn't until 1907 that an electrified, descending ball was used to commemorate New Year's Eve in Times Square.
The first ball was made of iron and wood, and was lit with 100 25-watt light bulbs. In today's ball, light from the 672 LEDs is refracted in 2,688 geodesic crystal panels.
Waterford has been providing crystals for the ball since 1999.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
