Thousands of revelers flooded Times Square on Sunday hours before the clock struck 12 to snag prime viewing spots for the city's New Year's Eve spectacle.
The partygoers were in high spirits, cheering and joking as they waited for the celebration to begin. Greg First and his 14-year-old daughter, Erika, traveled from Lavonia, Mich., outside Detroit, to attend the event.
"I've watched this for 40 years on TV, no joke," said First, 43. "I wanted to be here just once."
The two had been waiting since 10 a.m. and brought apples and nuts so they wouldn't have to move, because once you leave there's no chance of getting back to the front-row spots.
Police said everything was going according to plan, and there had been no reports of unruly onlookers. Security was tight in and around Times Square. Spectators, expected to number about a million by midnight, passed through police checkpoints, no big bags or backpacks were permitted and bomb-sniffing dogs roamed the crowd.
Public drinking was banned again, and visitors were being herded into a series of viewing pens that prevented them from bar hopping.
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