NEW YORK \u2014 When the iconic Times Square Ball drops in Manhattan come midnight, it will descend before an unusually small live audience. Most of the confetti will fall to the ground, landing on the shoulders of just a few hundred partygoers rather than the 1 million who typically pack the streets for the new year. When the clock strikes 12, no one is likely to kiss a stranger.<\/p>\n
For 2021 in New York and around the United States, it\u2019s out with the old, in with the few.<\/p>\n
The coronavirus pandemic has canceled, scaled down and rejiggered New Year\u2019s celebrations across the United States, where virtually no place is safe to gather in groups. And after a bruising year that included not only a global health crisis, but a painful reckoning over racial injustice, devastating natural disasters and a polarizing presidential election, Americans are both hopeful and wary of what a new year will bring.<\/p>\n
At the intersection of 44th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, a few hundred feet from where the ball would drop, a small crowd gathered in the early afternoon. Normally, it would be difficult to get so close.<\/p>\n
Georgienne Millen, 65, a New York City tour guide, stopped by to snap a few photos. She hadn\u2019t done the New Year\u2019s Eve Times Square experience \u2014 partying amid the massive throng \u2014 since she was 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was crazy,\u201d she said. \u201cI was never kissed by so many people in my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, the words escaped her. Millen\u2019s older brother had recently tested positive for the coronavirus but was asymptomatic so far. \u201cThis whole year has messed with my vocabulary,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s so sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
The area where she was standing would have been impossible to do in a normal year. Space would have been a precious commodity. \u201cThis gets booked a year in advance,\u201d she said. She was sad for those who had to cancel their plans.<\/p>\n
Times Square on New Year\u2019s is \u201csomething everybody should do once in their life,\u201d Millen said. But not this year.<\/p>\n
Now people were standing in small groups, snapping photos six feet apart. Come midnight, the only live witnesses to the ball drop will be the few hundred front-line workers invited to the square.<\/p>\n
Indoors, New Year\u2019s celebrations are expected to be even smaller. Restrictions on indoor dining across the United States and curfews on liquor sales in some areas are expected to dull bars and restaurants on what\u2019s typically one of the most lucrative nights of the year.<\/p>\n
The pandemic has been crushing for the hospitality industry and the prospect of thin winter months ahead has driven some establishments to try to salvage what they can of the usually bustling New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n
At the Royal D.C., a popular bar in Washington\u2019s LeDroit Park neighborhood, customers usually flood in to watch the Times Square ball drop on a projector. This year, the D.C. government banned alcohol sales after 10 p.m., forcing bar manager Alonzo Freeman to reach for a backup plan: $90 take-home cocktail kits with four alcoholic drinks, as well as cold brew and a guava pastry for the next morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we could have people here until midnight, 1 a.m., we probably would,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cBut since you can\u2019t experience a countdown here, there\u2019s really no point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chicago chef Oliver Poilevey was more optimistic Thursday afternoon after capping the number of orders for a New Year\u2019s Eve carryout menu at his French bistro, Le Bouchon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people are anxious to do something since they\u2019re not going out,\u201d said Poilevey. Even as he anticipates a much-needed sales bump from the New Year\u2019s Eve orders, he\u2019s wistful for the dinner services of New Year\u2019s past.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not the same as being in a restaurant, everyone clinking glasses all the same time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of a reminder of the good times.\u201d (The Washington Post)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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