Midtown has come to life, and celebration has begun in earnest. I buy a cup of coffee and talk with a couple from Madrid, Spain. New York on New Year's Eve. A band plays on the Dick Clark stage, and, on a giant screen, dancers from an Asian country strut their stuff. Next to me, a man wearing a silly hat blows a noisemaker and pinches his girlfriend's fanny.
People shout for joy.
In the background, the Coca-Cola sign and Jumbotron TVs compete for attention. New Age music fills the air. A roar of voices goes up north of Broadway, causing dozens of cops to run in that direction. The subway rumbles beneath me. A cop stops them and inspects the box.