Thousands upon thousands of people are expected to descend on Times Square on Tuesday for the annual New Year’s Eve festivities, and New York City officials are bracing for impact.
Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD on Monday said the city was working to keep revelers safe throughout the holiday, including by mobilizing a massive law enforcement presence in and around Midtown Manhattan. They said there were no credible threats to the Times Square celebration but added that officials remain on heightened alert, particularly with more tourists visiting this year than since before the pandemic.
“The public can expect to see a tremendous amount of police resources deployed throughout the area and across the city,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press briefing. Those resources, she said, would include specialized NYPD units positioned on rooftops around Times Square, as well as drones in the sky, uniformed and plainclothes officers on the streets, and police on horseback, helicopters and boats.
Multiple drone teams will be patrolling Midtown to monitor for any suspicious activity or emergencies, with “mobile drone teams” operating throughout the city, according to Kaz Daughtry, the department’s deputy commissioner of operations.
“If they spot anything, or any type of anomalies, they’ll notify the ground units right away,” he said.
The city has received more than 64 million tourists in 2024, second only to the record 67 million who came in 2019, according to a recent report from the marketing organization NYC Tourism + Conventions. More than 1 million people are projected to visit Times Square to mark the new year, officials with the city and the nonprofit Times Square Alliance said.
For those planning on joining the mania, be advised: New Year’s Eve is forecast to be wet and unseasonably warm. Despite the inclement weather, city officials said umbrellas — along with large bags, backpacks, coolers, chairs and alcohol — will not be allowed in the viewing areas.
Officials also recommended that partygoers take public transit to get around the city on Tuesday, especially in Manhattan. Staggered street closures will begin at 4 a.m. and continue throughout the morning, Tisch said, adding that all manholes, mailboxes, vending machines and garbage baskets in the area will be either sealed or removed.
According to the NYPD, the N, Q and R trains will skip the 49th Street station in both directions and uptown 1 trains will skip the 50th Street station.
Viewing areas for the Times Square ball drop will open at 3 p.m. on Tuesday on a first-come, first-to-enter basis, and pedestrians can enter at 49th, 52nd and 56th streets from both Sixth and Eighth avenues. There are no tickets and no bathrooms, and no reentry will be allowed, officials said.
The ball is set to be raised to the top of the pole at One Times Square at roughly 6 p.m. It will start dropping at 11:59 p.m.
Artists performing this year include Rita Ora, the Jonas Brothers and TLC, according to the Times Square Alliance.
Gov. Kathy Hochul also announced on Monday that various state agencies, including the New York National Guard and Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, will step up their operations and staffing through the holiday, including at major transportation hubs.
