Throngs pack into Times Square for annual New Year’s bash

Confetti falls during the annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, in NY.

The NYPD sent 6,000 uniformed officers to Midtown for the ceremony, along with members of the department’s new anti-terror task force.

New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio will push the button to commence the New Year’s Eve Times Square Ball Drop.

The city for the first time will use its new Critical Response Command counterterrorism unit, which includes more heavily armed officers, to patrol Times Square.

“This is the center of the world on New Year’s Eve”, said Rick Milley, 60, who traveled from Boston with his wife, Debbie, 59, to ring in the new year in Times Square.

But some in the crowd were jittery, admitting to being nervous to gather in such a famous location in the weeks after the Paris and San Bernardino attacks.

CNN: 8 p.m.-12:30 a.m., “New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin”.

An estimated 1 million people were expected at the celebration, protected by an armada of 6,000 police officers – some in civilian clothes, many heavily armed – as well as rigid security screenings. You can also follow tweets from the official Times Square Twitter feed embedded at right.

The Waterford crystal ball is shown atop One Times Square this week. Maggie Rulli, Andrea Boehlke and Jeremy Hassell all return for their third New Year’s Eve webcast.

In Auckland, an impressive fireworks display lit up around the Sky Tower.

In Rochester, New York, a 25-year-old man accused of planning to attack a restaurant on New Year’s Eve there was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempting to provide support to Islamic State, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

The tradition of gathering in Times Square to celebrate the new year began in 1904, according to the Times Square Alliance, the area’s business-development association.

Police have nevertheless deployed bomb-sniffing dogs and radiation detectors as a precaution and have banned backpacks and liquor.

NEW YORK (AP) – The glittering crystal ball in New York City has dropped in Times Square, marking the start of 2016.