What You Need to Know for New Year’s Eve in Times Square

A single switch sets a ball made of 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs and covered in 2,688 Waterford crystals on a one-minute, 77-foot-long journey to mark the beginning of 2010. But long before the ball is hoisted to the top of the pole at 10 minutes to midnight on Thursday, hundreds of thousands of revelers will have gathered in Times Square, spilling out the sides, up Seventh Avenue and Broadway all the way up to Central Park. And thanks to Wednesday’s excitement over a suspicious van filled with clothing, there will be additional security measures all around them.Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said that hundreds of police officers would be deployed and that revelers would notice an increased presence of men and women in uniform.“It’s the most policed area in the city and probably in the world, in terms of concentration of police officers,” he said. “It’s probably one of the safest pieces of real estate in the country.”As Al Baker reported in The New York Times on Thursday, police officers will be outfitted with devices to detect radiation or the crude makings of a dirty bomb. Similar technology will be deployed on trucks, police boats patrolling the East and Hudson Rivers and on helicopters. Staff members with the city’s Department of Environmental Protection will be in place to sniff the air for chemical or biological contaminants. There will be decontamination facilities available, including areas for people to bag their clothes and shower if necessary. Plainclothes officers will be checking for routine nuisances, like pickpockets and the overserved.All of this security means that the hundreds of people at Countdown Entertainment and the Times Square Alliance, the co-producers of the show, can carry out their yearlong efforts to bring in live acts to distract revelers from possible frostbite and the wintry mix that is predicted. Alicia Keys and Daughtry will be there, as will the Broadway cast of “Hair,” who will perform “Let the Sunshine In,” wearing clothes (to the dismay of some). Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will be on hand, with his family, to flip the switch on that glittery ball, proving that this is a safe, family-friendly event.For weeks, wishers have been writing down their new year’s dreams in more than 22 languages on one-inch squares of multicolor paper, for things like “a cure for diabetes” or “I wish to stay employed” or “I wish Miley Cyrus will heart me” and eternal searches for love and soul mates. These will be cast from the sky, along with two tons of confetti, over the square at midnight.If you’re not ready to brave the crowds, there are several ways to dial in remotely. For the first time, you’ll be able to watch a live Webcast, with more chatter than Dick Clark can provide, and a look at what’s going on behind the scenes starting at 5:50 and running until 12:20 a.m. Shh, don’t tell AT&T, but iPhones will be able to stream the event at iphone.livestream.com/2010.  CONTINUE READING...