New Year's Eve Ball Arrives At Times Square
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Preparations are in full swing in Times Square to welcome in the new year.
The New Year's Eve Ball that will descend at midnight arrived for set-up in the square Friday morning.
The geodesic sphere features 192 new Waterford Crystal triangles.
Celebrating the "Gift of Goodwill," the new design utilizes three pineapple cuts signifying the traditional image of hospitality and goodwill.
"That crystal ball represents hope," said Tim Tompkins, president of Times Square Alliance. "And that's why people stand in the cold, or in the rain as it was last year, because new year's eve is kind of a reset when we say we need to look forward and say whatever's been going during the last year...we need to look forward with a sense of hope."
Unveiling Of The Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Design
The Ball is covered with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles that vary in size, ranging in length from 4 3/4 inches to 5 3/4 inches per side.
It will sit atop the roof of One Times Square, measuring 12 feet in diameter and weighing nearly 12,000 pounds.
The year 2020 sign was installed on Thursday.
Visitors to Times Square can write down their wishes for 2020 on the actual confetti that will be released when the ball drops in the heart of Times Square on New Year's Eve.
Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins On CBSN New York
Tompkins says submissions already include wishes ranging from "Joy" to "I always want to be there when my kids when they need me" and "I wish my job feels better."
You can submit your wish in-person at the New Year's Eve Wishing Wall at Times Square Plaza on Broadway between 45th and 46th streets.
You can also share your wish by filling out the online form or by using the hashtag #ConfettiWish on Twitter and Instagram.
"We will print it out on a piece of paper and it will get dropped along with about 100,000 other pieces of confetti that have wishes on them amongst millions of pieces of confetti in the middle of Times Square on New Year's Eve," Tompkins said.
And if you're eager to say goodbye to 2019, come out for Good Riddance Day on Saturday between noon and 1 p.m. and bid farewell to bad memories of the past 12 months. That event is also being held in Times Square Plaza between 45th and 46th streets.
Organizers say around 1 billion people around the world will watch as the Ball drops in Times Square. On the ground, hundreds of thousands of people will fill the streets -- even more this year than in the past because the weather is supposed to be nice.
The NYPD says it's prepared.
"Thousands of highly visible cops on the streets and in the subways. Heavy weapons teams from both the emergency service unit, critical response commands and the strategic response group," NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said.
NYPD Holds Press Conference About Security Preps For New Year's Eve
While there are no credible threats present, the NYPD says all angles will be covered.
"Explosive canine detection teams, radiation detection teams, bomb squad response teams, drone detection and interdiction teams, alongside with our partners, the FBI," Assistant Chief Martine Materasso said.
The NYPD is also asking the public to help keep everyone safe. As always, they say if you see something, say something to an officer or call 911.
