New York City, Times Square. Our girl Jessica Formoso
She is down in Times Square this morning. Jessica, good morning to you. We got our
hats on. You got your glasses. Yeah, let's have a party. What's going on down there
Hey, Dan. Hey, happy New Year's Eve, guys. I mean, I am where the biggest party will take place
later today in Times Square. Guys, we are expecting a million revelers to pack Times Square to see
the iconic ball drop. And listen, I don't think anybody is going to mind being packed like Sargees
because it is cold out. I'm trying not to think about it. I've been out here since 4 30 this
morning and I don't know if it's getting colder and colder by the minute. But again, we're not
thinking about the weather. That's out of my mind. Nope. We're here to have fun, to enjoy it. I just
want to hear people having a great time. Want to dance a little bit, Dan, because it is a party after all
But look, what's been happening here? Yeah, we're going to dance, bring the new year
Oh, wait, wait a second, Dan. Where's my champagne? You said you were going to Uber Eats it, and I haven't seen the car
Where's Uber Eats, guys? Where's my champagne? It's on the way. You need a little drink
I know you've been out there since 4.30 in the morning, so a little drink might help you out. You know what
That could help. And Jessica, all jokes aside, we have to really give credit to the NYPD, Dan, because they've been doing really a fantastic job
You know, a lot of street closures are ready. They started at four o'clock this morning and more street closures throughout the morning and throughout the evening and night
But just really a smooth operation here in Times Square. And Jessica, you were talking about some of the things that the NYPD is doing
Obviously, whenever they have a big event like this, they blanket the area with officers
They put some of those officers up a little higher in some of the high rise buildings so they can take a look down to make sure we see some of our counterterrorism units out there all the different units that will be out there And the police commissioner talked about that So I know we having fun
but let's take a serious listen to what our police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, had to say about what's going on. You can go ahead and play that sound
Intelligence teams will also be monitoring social media for potential threats, and response units will be deployed citywide to investigate any reports in real time
Concrete barriers and blocker vehicles and frozen safety lanes will be established to protect the perimeter of the area
Manholes, mailboxes and trash receptacles within the frozen zone will be either secured or removed
Viewing areas will officially open at 3 p.m. with pedestrian entry points at 45th, 49th, 52nd, and 56th streets from both 6th and 8th Avenues
All right, so she's talking about a lot of the security measures that will be in place there
Jessica, are you seeing anyone out there already this morning? I know you talked to some people who may or may not have been dressed for the occasion
What are you seeing out there? well i have seen some revelers here um early this morning already but look dan the the before i get
to them i just have to say some of them have been coming to this area they're tourists right so they
don't really know new york city that well so they've been coming to time square and i keep
telling them guys you have to go to the access points which the commissioner just spoke about
it's either sixth avenue or eighth avenue 42nd 46 52nd 56th street those are the areas where they
will do the checkpoints, and that is crucial. You have to get screened by the NYPD
before you come to the central area here to Times Square, before you get let into the viewing pens
And then once you're here, just another note about security this year
which is something new, you could be subject to a second screening So if the NYPD sees anything suspicious within the pens they going to screen you again That said yes we actually found a few couples here some
taking photos, some trying to find where they need to go. I actually spoke to a couple from
Chicago. The woman was really nicely dressed in her sequins skirt and her little pea coat
I was like, girl, you are going to freeze tonight. But she didn't even care. You know
why Dan because this is the third time they are trying to see the ball drop and the first two
times they could not do it they said they got here too late they were not able to get into one
of the viewing pens this time around they got here at three o'clock in the morning I think
this time around they will get in take a listen to stand here
watch the ball drop maybe at 3 o'clock in the afternoon to stand there but it's not so freezing cold
and we don't know if it's too good for our health this is your first time here in New York
yes and we're so excited to be there at our age you don't know if you can handle the cold yes yes
so Dan And actually that right there, that right there was actually the German couple
So a little background on them. They are here for the first time in Times Square in New York City
Their plan all along, why they came to New York City was to be here in Times Square
But they, I think, are too scared of this cold weather. And they said to me, I don't know if we could do it
I don't know if we can stand out here for hours before midnight
So they are thinking of staying in their hotel and then maybe closer to midnight they'll come out
But I was thinking, Dan, I'm like, look, if you made it all the way from Germany here to New York City
I think, I don't know about you, brave the cold, no? You might as well give it a shot
And Jessica I know it also they going to do something a little different with the ball this year right It going to go up it going to go down or it going to be up and it going to come down and then it going to go back up right What going on with that Yes so this year it extra special and that because we know in 2026 on July 4th
America is celebrating 250 years, and for that the Times Square Alliance is doing something special
So tonight at 12.04, the ball will go back up, and once it's going up, there's going to be
2,000 pounds of confetti also raining on us, on the crowd, the red, white, and blue
The American flag is going to be shown as well. They're going to sing the Star Spangled Banner
I mean, it's going to be a celebration also for America, just kicking off the 250th birthday
which is something special. I actually can't wait to see how it all turns out
Jessica Formoso live in Times Square all morning. Who knows if she'll be there all day or all night, but she's been having a great party
getting things started. We love it, Jessica. amazing job out there today. Listen, Dan, thank you. But listen, we're out here. It's cold. And
we just have to celebrate the fact that we made it through 2025. We're ready for 2026. No matter
if 2025 was good for you or wasn't. Listen, you're here. You made it. You're healthy. You're alive
So that is something to celebrate. And then now in 2026, all I can wish you all is a happy
healthy, prosperous, lots of money. I'm kidding. But yeah, lots of money in 2026
And lots of money in 2026. But no, really just health. That's all we ask for. At least that's all I ask for
And you can achieve all your goals that you have because, you know, we now have 365 more days to achieve the goals that we didn't achieve in 2025
So let's look at the positive. And here in Times Square, it's quiet. You see the stage behind me
It's set. It's ready. And in a few hours at three o'clock, people will be coming in
And that, Dan, is when the real party starts. And I cannot not wait for that
All right. But Happy New Year. Happy New Year, Jessica, our optimism correspondent in Times Square this morning
We love to see it. Jessica, thank you very much. Okay, so