Revelers in Times Square ring in new year
A group of friends pose for photographs as they take part in the New Year's Eve festivities in Times Square. (Dec. 31, 2010) Credit: AP
Hundreds of thousands of revelers in New York City rang in 2011 on Saturday with fireworks, confetti and a Waterford crystal ball equipped with 32,000 lights that descended from atop One Times Square.
Angela Dumas, 29, a physician from Portugal, watched the festivities with her fiancée, Carlos Zeferino, 30, also from Portugal.
“You have to come here, the TV doesn’t show anything,” she said after the ball dropped. “People come from all over the world. It’s very unifying.”
After the 12,000-pound ball dropped, some spectators made quick exits while others stayed around to snap photos, blow horns and wave streamers.
To handle the crowds, the New York City Police Department deployed a “counterterrorism overlay,” including thousands of uniformed and undercover officers, hand-held and vehicle-mounted radiation detectors, helicopters and observation towers, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
"Anyone who comes will have to go through magnetometers, perhaps as many as three times," to get to viewing areas, Kelly said Friday.
He said officers also were deployed to other events in the city, including a concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, fireworks in Brooklyn and fireworks at the Statue of Liberty.
"We always do things a little bit differently," Kelly said. "We don't want to get stuck in a rut, so some of our deployments will change."
The celebration will be the first since Pakistani immigrant Faisal Shahzad attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square on the evening of May 1. Shahzad pleaded guilty to the bombing attempt in June and was sentenced to life in prison.
Backpacks, large bags and alcohol were prohibited in Times Square and pocketbooks were inspected as revelers entered fenced-in viewing zones.
Just before 5 p.m., the closest many onlookers could get to the action was 49th Street.
Dawn Borchardt, 34, a registered nurse from St. Louis, came with her daughter Cassie Miller, 16, and Dawn's friend Jamie Seitz, 29, a labor and delivery surgical technician. They were far back in the crowd on Seventh Avenue between 49th and 50th streets.
To prepare for the night they wore long underwear and brought handwarmers and snacks.
"It's kind of overwhelming at first, kind of easy to get turned around but exciting," Borchardt said.
With Bloomberg News
