Posted on 12/27/2021 5:38:22 AM PST by DoodleBob
Amid the sharp increase of COVID-19 cases, the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration will be scaled back, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday. While the public can still attend, the capacity will be lowered and both vaccination and masking will be required.
Under the new plan, all attendees over 5 years of age will need to provide proof of full vaccination (which was received by December 17th) along with a valid photo ID, and will need to be masked while in the outdoors pens. Spectators won't be allowed to enter until 3 p.m. on December 31st, which is much later than previous years when people would start entering Times Square early in the morning to stake out spots. Further, the crowd will be limited to 15,000 people—usually there are closer to 60,000—to allow for social distancing.
"New Yorkers have stepped up tremendously over the past year—we are leading the way on vaccinations, we have reopened safely, and every day we work toward building a recovery for all of us," de Blasio said in a statement. "There is a lot to celebrate and these additional safety measures will keep the fully vaccinated crowd safe and healthy as we ring in the New Year.”
Last year's New Year's Eve celebration was closed to the public; instead, there were musical performances, with a small group of essential workers invited to watch while in socially-distanced pens.
In November, when De Blasio and the Times Square Alliance said festivities would return to Times Square this year, the plan was to allow unvaccinated attendees if they wore masks. However, the new omicron variant's transmissibility has sent COVID case counts rising exponentially, demanding a change in protocol.
Mayor-elect Eric Adams, who canceled his indoor January 1st inauguration, voiced his support of the adjustment: "New York is the best place in the world to celebrate New Year’s Eve and now it will be one of the safest against COVID as well. The Mayor has made the right move to take precautionary measures as we learn to live with COVID and fight the Omicron variant—and New Yorkers and visitors alike can now enjoy Times Square and the rest of our city as we ring in 2022."
De Blasio had expressed reluctance to completely cancel the event, saying on Tuesday, "The goal, of course, is to keep it going, because it's such an important event for New Yorkers and for the whole world."
Times Square Alliance president Tom Harris said, "We applaud the leadership of Mayor de Blasio in finding a way to welcome revelers into Times Square on New Year's Eve in an even safer way than we originally planned. This year revelers will be fully vaccinated, masked, and we will have reduced occupancy in the viewing areas. We understand that everyone will not be able to be here but welcome them to experience New Year's Eve in Times Square from our live webcast, on one of the networks or on the VNYE app.”
The event will be streaming on a number of sites, including TimesSquareNYC.org, NewYearsEve.nyc, LiveStream.com/2022 and TimesSquareBall.net.
How tedious when one could stay home, have a few drinks, and go to bed early.
In the 1980s me and my friends use to bar hop all over NYC and right about 1100 PM we would head to Times Square and get right up front to the ball. Last time that happened was 1988 I believe, and we were able to stand in the middle of Times square right up front.
Now they have everyone corralled like cattle behind barricades and you have to get there around 6am in the morning and stand there all day otherwise you lose your spot. As if that isn’t humiliating enough, people actually wear diapers so they don’t have to go to the bathroom.
It’s nothing by a leftist display of power because any terrorist could still easily walk in there and blow it up. The terrorism angle is just an excuse just like they are using the excuse of Covid today to dehumanize people.
I thought requiring IDs was racist and disenfranchised poor people?
I know 3 people who have attended. All of them say it was the most unimpressive waste of time they’ve had on New Years.
Wow! Sounds like so much fun.
Some pigs are more equal than others......................
“Reopened safely” huh?
Is that why murders and violent crime have skyrocketed in New York City?
DeBlasio has always lived in Fantasyland.
I have attended. About 20 years ago. One of the coldest and most unpleasant New Year’s Eves I ever had.
Everyone will be safe. Because we all know that being fully vaxxed and wearing masks will protect you from the Chinese virus.
So says Brandon...
And instead of a descending ball, it’ll be a descending hypo needle which will “stick” a ball at the bottom.
NYC is done. Burn it and dispose of the ashes in the sun so that no is ever forced to touch the refuse of what was once a great city.
Liberals ***k EVERYthing they touch.
EVERYTHING!
You’ve got that right! I have a date with my pillow.
Lots of 6 year olds have photo IDs?
I remember the good old days when the Square was packed, shoulder to shoulder, and there was actually hope for a happy new year.
“Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration”
Still not gettin’ it....and never have
When I worked in NYC we had a girl in my office from Minnesota. She was all excited to go to Times Square on New Years.
So she did and when we all went back to work she told me it was the most horrible experience of her life. After the ball dropped there was nothing else to do and the subway she was trying to get to was impossible to get to because the crowd was so huge that you were unable to go anywhere but where it went and it did not go in the direction she needed to go.
She said she was taken about 11 blocks out of her way and it took her hours to make it back and get back to her apartment. She didn’t get home till very early in the morning, exhausted and cold. Not to mention unable all that time to get to a bathroom.
Better to watch from home.
As an old friend used to say....new years eve is for amateurs.
Sounds like an excellent “incubator test.”
Will someone be watching the experiment subjects?
No doubt everyone else will stay away due to Herr duh-blah-zeeoh’s orders.
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