NEW YORK – Away were the revelry and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that mark Times Square on New Year’s Eve, with empty streets and quiet silence as the final hours of 2020 take off.
This was New Year’s Eve at the age of COVID-19.
Crowd control halted crowdfunding, as police closed the World Crossroads to vehicles and spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of the shiny, crystal ball that was lowered to mark a pole to mark a midnight stroke. marking. Participants were asked to watch the ball fall on television.
Preparing for the worst, the New York Police Department fired the dogs sniffing at bombs and sand-filled sanitation trucks intended to protect against explosions. But the department’s playbook was taking an unusual command this year: banning crowds of any size from gathering in Times Square.
“It makes me a little sad,” said Cole Zieser, who recently moved to New York City. “It’s just that we won’t be what we wanted, what everyone is dreaming about in New York. “
The coronavirus has lasted public life for months, and New Year’s Eve was no different for a city that accounts for more than 25,000 deaths due to the virus. The blocks around the ball collapse were closed, leaving a scene that Police Commissioner Dermot Shea described as surreal.
“He’s dead,” said Ali Jameel, who owns a store in Times Square. “We dream that he will return again as before.”
Despite the restrictions, Mayor Bill de Blasio promised that New Year’s Eve would be “a joyous night, if ever. Goodbye, 2020. Here comes something better: 2021.”
The NYPD announced a two-part freeze that escalated at 3pm Even guests at five hotels in the area were told to stay indoors.
Juanita Holmes, patrol chief for the NYPD, urged people to shout in 2021 “from the comfort of your home.”
“Coming to Times Square is a family tradition for some. It’s a bucket list topic for others. But this year is different,” she said. “I can’t stress enough how important it is for everyone to stay at home.”
The police department was still dispatching heavy weapons crews, explosive sniffing dogs, drones and sand trucks. But they were also planning a significant back-to-back presence in Times Square, including an 80% reduction in the average workforce assigned to the area.
“We must always prepare for the worst in terms of counter-terrorism transmission,” Shea said, “but the population will not be as large as they have been in previous years.”
Special guests of the event, first responders and essential staff were expected to see the performances from a spacious private space.
“It’s almost like a ‘Seinfeld’ program,” Shea said, inviting the 1990s “show about nothing.”
“This is a ball fall about nothing, where you can’t see,” he said, “and you might stay home too.”