OPINION

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By Jane Roberts

Confetti showering over Times Square as the new year arrives. Photo credit: gigi_nyc via Flickr.

As the dazzling New Year’s Eve ball finally ends its 75-foot high descent from the top of New York’s One Times Square skyscraper, confetti and fireworks explode over the swarming city as all heads turn towards the celebration. For just one moment, the never-ending bustle of America’s most populous city ceases, while millions from around the world tune in to watch the event unfold.

Every year on December 31, as many as 100,000 people from around the world gather in New York City’s famed Times Square to watch the ball drop and ring in the new year. If you examine someone’s bucket list, it’s possible you will find spending New Year’s Eve in Times Square as a goal. However, as first-hand accounts of the evening are released every year following this event, the debate gains more traction: Is it worth it to spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square?

A large part of the appeal for this event originates from its vast media presence and promotion. Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve is by far the most popular stream and television broadcast of the famous ball drop, with as many as 19.6 million viewers this year. Each TV network builds the suspense for the live performances for months in advance, building anticipation for the night and its thrills. 

Furthermore, the ball drop on New Year’s Eve is a free event, so anyone who wants to attend is able to without paying the extensive fares associated with many other New York activities. However, many scammers will stand in the area and try to sell fake tickets for the celebration, tricking uninformed attendees into paying unnecessary money.

This year’s One Times Square Ball. Photo credit: TimesSquareNYC via Instagram.

Despite the widespread excitement over this event, standing in Times Square is the absolute last way I would like to spend my New Year’s Eve. People begin arriving in what’s known as the “Bow Tie” of New York City— where Broadway and Seventh Avenue intersect– earlier than 9:00 a.m. on Dec. 31, attempting to get the best possible view of the celebration. If one arrives any later than this, they are unlikely to even see the main event of the whole evening: the 115 year-old One Times Square ball drop.

Because of the immense crowds congesting the streets of New York on this night, there are numerous viewing areas in the streets in front of the One Times Square building. They are managed on a first come, first served basis, so in order to maintain a desirable spot for the ball drop, people must stay in their pens from 9 a.m. until midnight, or else they will not be permitted re-entry. This tendency has caused many to get creative in making their long day more comfortable. In an article from Insider, one family comments, “we’re all wearing diapers,” and some even resort to relieving themselves into storm drains. For those who do not go so far as to sport diapers, dehydration can become a dangerous consequence, especially when mixed with hunger due to the lack of food vendors in the area and prohibition of public alcohol consumption by the NYPD. 

Dick Clark with Michael Jackson on American Bandstand in the early 1970s. Photo credit: TheLostChild’s Gallery via flickr.

Among the diaper-wearing partygoers, there are many celebrities invited to Times Square to ring in the new year, whether they are hosting a TV show or performing to the masses. Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve has been dominating the networks on New Year’s Eve since 1972. Clark, who died in 2012, was a powerful force in entertainment, and he hosted the show American Bandstand from 1956-1989, where he promoted many young musical artists and introduced them to the American public, including stars like Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, and The Jackson 5. This year, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve had a multitude of performances, with the most promoted and well-known being 1980’s pop legends Duran Duran. Though this band was quite popular forty years ago, they do not carry a strong appeal for the younger generations that are more inclined to visit Times Square on New Year’s and may have even discouraged some from attending the event. 

While many people adore this New Year’s Eve celebration, there are also numerous accounts from past attendees whose high hopes for the evening were unfulfilled. In an article from Canadian blogger Karen K. Lee, she fondly remembers the precise moment when the clock struck midnight in Times Square. However, she is not sure the “12 hours of straight suffering” through the freezing December temperatures she endured to reach that brief moment was really worth it.

A partygoer collecting Times Square confetti. Photo credit: pushupman via flickr.

I understand where most of the appeal for spending New Year’s Eve in Times Square comes from; its thorough promotion highlights plenty of the charm for the evening, but I would much rather spend my last night of the year in a non-crowded, heated space with access to a restroom. I am perfectly content to simply watch the ball drop on television, or even not watch it at all. 

In interviewing people around Collegiate, I discovered that I’m not alone in this perspective. Upper School English teacher and Match advisor Vlastik Svab said, “for my ideal New Year’s Eve, I have a nice dinner and be asleep by 11:00 p.m.,” completely omitting even watching the ball drop. For Upper School student Abby Mayr (‘24), New Year’s Eve in Times Square seems like a “waste of time,” and “too crowded.” Mayr would rather “watch the ball drop from home with my friends and be just as excited about the new year.” 

With all the preparations necessary to ensure a comfortable experience in Times Square, the long awaited moment is so brief that the celebration can feel rather anticlimactic. While the popularity of the New Year’s Eve ball drop will likely persist for many generations to come, I will be perfectly content to enjoy the rest of my New Year’s Eves far away from the mobs consuming New York City.

Featured image: The dense crowds in Times Square on Dec. 31. Photo credit: Bill Larkin via flickr.