Times Square Puts Another New Year's Eve Celebration in the Books

Celebrating New Year's Eve is always fun and entertaining to watch, especially when you are watching one of the biggest celebrations in the world.

CNN reports that the biggest New Year's Eve Party took place in its traditional location this year at Times Square in New York City. Times Square has long been one of the best places to watch the New Year's Eve celebration and countdown to each year.

This year, I watched the event in Times Square on television and definitely will not forget the performance by New Kids on the Block. I have always been a fan of New Kids on the Block, although they were not really popular when I was growing up. The guys performed a medley of their hits throughout the years and put them all into one huge song, which got everyone excited. New Kids on the Block really got involved with the crowd and it was just cool seeing them sing all of their hit songs on such a festive night. I really enjoyed how everyone was singing along with them as well, which kind of made it hard to hear the band. The crowd being into the music and singing along is definitely my favorite moment of the night. I will remember that performance because it was like I was back in the 1980s, watching them on television for the first time.

The Backstreet Boys were also one of the musical acts but as far as boy bands are concerned, New Kids on the Block performed better. I have always wanted to see them perform live but never had the opportunity except to see YouTube videos of their old shows. Last night was the first time I have seen them perform in front of such a huge crowd, and it really felt like I was a part of it.

CBS New York reports that cleanup got underway early this morning to clear confetti and trash left behind from the New Year's Eve crowd. The city uses professional trash collectors each year to clean up all the debris, so it never takes them long to get the job done. One weather problem they have to deal with right now, however, is wind. The winds have reached up to 25 miles an hour, which can make collecting trash and confetti exhausting. Some of the trash had scattered due to the wind, but it is estimated that 40 tons of trash and confetti were collected. The snow that had paralyzed the city just days before was basically non-existent as crowds of people helped melt remaining snow from sidewalks and roads.

Overall, though, cleanup is going pretty well considering the amount of people who attended and the crippling snow just days before. The 175 people who are cleaning up Times Square are professionals and have leaf blowers, brooms and huge sweepers to get the job done right. Although the city does not give exact numbers of how many people attended the event, it is estimated that over 1 million people were in Times Square for the New Year's Eve Party. Everything seemed to go off without too much trouble, which leads me to think future New Year's Eve celebrations should not encounter any major problems.

Jordana Ossad, "NYC welcomes 2011 with traditional ball-drop, revelers", CNN

CBS New York Staff, "Crews Cleaning Up Times Square After New Year's Party", CBS