Every December, the eyes of the world are drawn to New York City, where a glowing crystal ball in midtown Manhattan marks a common chance for a fresh start. Hundreds of thousands meet in person; millions more watch on television, pausing for a moment to participate in an annual ritual.
With some excitement and anticipation, they look back at Times Square and start counting, starting in …
Ten.
In March, when the pandemic swept through New York City, the groups responsible for the New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square realized that things were unlikely to go as planned.
Broadway, an industry at the heart of Times Square’s appeal, was closing for months. Large meetings were banned indefinitely and several major events in the city had already been canceled. Rumors circulated in text messages and on Twitter that authorities could block the city.
Organizers knew that canceling the festivities would be devastating. New Year’s Eve in Times Square has become a symbol of a vibrant and prosperous New York City and has been at the center of the holiday for decades.
Nine …
… months before this year’s celebration, it seemed that that collective ritual, one of the few that remain in an increasingly segmented society, could be threatened.
Tim Tompkins, the president of the Times Square Alliance, said the organizers are determined to lower the ball from its position above the city. They also knew that crowds would flock to the area as they had for more than a century, whether they planned a celebration or not.
What was not clear was whether and how the producers of the event would adapt the other customs of the night – the presentations, the crowd and the confetti – to the reality of the pandemic.
“We knew we had to be prepared for a crowd, no matter what,” said Tompkins. “And then it was just a question of ‘My God, how are we going to do this?'”
Over months of planning, an answer came. This year, for the first time in decades, Times Square will be closed to the public on New Year’s Eve. Only production workers and dozens of selected frontline workers and their families will be allowed close to the stage.
On Wednesday, police officers asked the public to stay home.
“There are absolutely no spectators allowed in Times Square,” Chief Terence A. Monahan, the main uniformed member, said at a news conference.
“Don’t even try to go down there to watch,” he added.
As it does every year, the city will close streets in the region and police will operate checkpoints to prevent access. But instead of allowing visitors to enter, all unwanted visitors will be rejected, with a limited number of pedestrians starting at 3pm on Thursday. Chief Monahan said the Police Department would have 80% fewer police officers in Times Square than on a normal New Year’s Eve.
“Anyone who starts to meet will be instructed to move on,” he said. “We are not going to allow people to stand around the corner looking up.”
Eight-
2.5-meter pens will be spaced at socially distant intervals on the streets. They will receive about 40 workers who kept the city and the country running safely and calmly in the darkest hours of the year and who were invited to bring their families to celebrate.
On the guest list are a pediatrician at Elmhurst Hospital, a public hospital that was dominated by the pandemic; a pizza delivery driver who fell ill with the coronavirus; and Ronald Colbert, a Staten Island ferry operator who will be attending his 40th ball throw in Times Square.
“I am very honored and happy,” said Colbert, 66, who worked during the pandemic. “The elements of the excitement that Times Square offers – I can share that again.”
Seven (th) …
Avenue will not be crowded with people trying to take a look at the outdoor show, which will be staged according to state and industry guidelines for safe media production.
This year’s musical guests include Gloria Gaynor singing “I Will Survive”, a disco classic that has resurfaced as a pandemic anthem, as well as performances by Jennifer Lopez, Billy Porter and Cyndi Lauper.
Six …
Separate feet will remain the rule for television workers who will broadcast Times Square billboards across the country. For those stuck at home, Dick Clark’s “Rockin ‘Eve with Ryan Seacrest” will still rock ABC. In a year without party fun, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will again offer their New Year’s Eve comedy act on CNN.
TV networks will project the image of a Times Square transformed by the pandemic, without the crowds of revelers in glittering costumes who wait hours in the cold to participate in a national show.
Still, Tompkins and Jeff Straus, president of Countdown Entertainment, which co-produced the event in Times Square, said it was important for them that some kind of audience was present if circumstances allowed.
“There is an energy you get from watching other people being happy,” said Straus.
During the spring, when the pandemic ravaged New York City, the photos of a strangely empty Times Square became a dark meme. The deserted square has become a lasting image of the crisis and a visual abbreviation for the devastating circumstances the virus has caused.
With the close of 2020 and the redefinition of the calendar, the two hoped to be able to provide a new beginning and a new narrative for one of the most famous intersections in the world.
“We want to show a city with a heartbeat,” said Straus. “And a city that is alive.”
Five …
months ago, in July, Straus and Tompkins had the first clue that a celebration similar to that of previous years would be possible.
Times Square has been home to major New Year festivities since 1904, when hundreds of thousands gathered in Midtown Manhattan to watch fireworks lighting up the newly constructed New York Times building, now known as One Times Square.
The ball was first launched in 1907. Since then, it has been lowered on New Year’s Eve almost every year, with breaks only in 1942 and 1943 because of World War II-related “dimouts” that required turning off the lights as protection against air strikes.
But even without the ball to watch, massive crowds still gathered in Times Square for quieter celebrations, described in The Times as having a “strange quality” in the first year, but “more cheerful” and “bigger” in the next.
“A lot of the energy comes from hordes of people,” said Tompkins, who has been involved with launching the ball since 2002. “And therefore, there will definitely be a different energy in Times Square.”
Still, that there would be energy was hardly guaranteed. Although the organizers continued to plan, they nervously watched as a series of equally large events were canceled by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
Four …
days after July, however, the city worked with Macy’s to reconfigure its annual fireworks extravaganza.
For Straus and Tompkins, it was a clear sign that city officials were determined to preserve New York traditions while keeping people safe at home.
Three …
other events also helped to prove that an altered New Year’s Eve was feasible, said Straus.
The MTV Video Music Awards offered a model for musical performances. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade showed the audience welcoming a reduced tradition, and the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree proved that large-scale events can safely occur, even in the midst of an increase of the pandemic.
Those who watch this year’s New Year’s Eve ceremonies, whether on television or the official online webcast, should expect a more intimate viewing experience, Straus said. (People looking for something more engaging can also download an app that uses augmented reality to bring Times Square home.)
Two …
blocks around Times Square will be used for this year’s celebration, a much smaller footprint than normal. That reduced scale is likely to be clear on the camera, said Straus. Large images showing a block street party will be deleted. Close-ups don’t show smiles, said Straus, because the faces will be covered.
“We want to show a physically spaced Times Square,” said Straus. We want to show a Times Square that uses masks. “
For the first time in 26 years, Straus will not be in Times Square, showered with confetti when the clock strikes midnight.
Breaking with tradition, he will watch on TV along with much of the country while counting down the end of a brutal year and hoping to start again next year …