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The official harbinger of the New Year has landed smack-dab in the middle of town: the 7-foot-tall 2022 numerals that will take up residence above the city before the ball drops at midnight on December 31 are now in Times Square Plaza—the perfect Instagram fodder if you ask us.
Made of 599 energy efficient LED bulbs, the numbers took a trip to New York from California through Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and then Maryland inside of an electric vehicle and they will stay put through December 23.
New Yorkers and tourists alike are invited to visit the area and snap some photos alongside the numbers, hopefully ushering in a new (better) year before the giant sign gets moved to One Times Square, where the iconic ball will also be.
While in the area, consider also visiting the famous New Year's Eve wishing wall, which is back in Times Square urging New Yorkers to write all of their wishes for the upcoming year on pieces of confetti that will then be blasted through the sky during the December 31 celebrations.
Speaking of New Year's Eve in Times Square: New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said yesterday that the NYPD is actually planning for "multiple contingencies" in case the recent surge of COVID-19 cases will force organizers to scale back the annual festivities.
"I think we’re all on a wait-and-see," he said during an interview with NY1 yesterday. "You know, this is obviously the pandemic that won’t go away. I mean, we’re feeling it within the NYPD, as all of New York City is." We couldn't agree with him more.
Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio also commented on the situation, announcing that decisions will be made by the end of this week. "We’re going to make a decision before Christmas. We’re certainly looking at the new challenges we’re facing but this is an all-vaccinated event and it is outdoors and those are two very, very important, favorable factors," he said this past weekend.
I guess we'll all just have to wait and see what happens.