Dept. Of Sanitation Quickly Cleans Up New Year's Eve Party
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A massive crowd braved the cold and wet weather to welcome 2019 in Times Square on Monday night.
There was plenty of confetti and extra-tight security for the iconic crystal ball drop.
Once it was over, the cleanup started almost immediately, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
There's no party like a party at "The Crossroads of the World" on New Year's Eve, and what a celebration it was on the final day of 2018. But with any good party, someone, inevitably, has to clean up and that's what the city's Department of Sanitation was hard at work doing during the early morning hours on Tuesday, working to sweep away all the trash and break down the equipment.
Complicating matters was the heavy rain that drenched the area, but you would never know there was a spectacular celebration held just hours ago.
An eruption of confetti floated down over a soaked Times Square as the clock struck midnight Tuesday. Revelers in ponchos got poured on as the famous ball consisting of 2,600 crystals and 32,000 LED lights dropped, ringing in 2019.
Spectators were dazzled by the lights and sounds only New York City can deliver.
The crowds prepared for the rain and the wait.
"I got like three iPhone cables right here. I got a portable charger in my back pocket, and I have two electric hand warmers here," Ohio tourist Jordan Payne said.
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Everyone had a good time under the watchful eyes of thousands of police officers, more than 1,200 cameras and dozens of police K-9s.
"If you have never experienced New Year's Eve in Times Square, this is the place to be," NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said.
Then, when the celebration ended and the people filed out, sanitation crews moved in and wasted no time sweeping away the soggy confetti and trash.
But for those who were in Times Square on New Year's Eve, there were lasting memories. They got soaked, but they certainly had a lot of fun.
The NYPD said there were no major incidents to report.