New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday he's not sure why people decide to spend New Year's Eve in Times Square despite the economic gains to the city.
"We expect, as per usual, over a million people," de Blasio said, reports the New York Post. "I'm not quite sure why a million people want to stand in the freezing cold for long, long periods of time, but they do.
"And we'll be ready for them. It is a wonderful, celebratory event."
Reuters reports that as many as 2 million people could crowd into Times Square for Saturday night's festivities, which culminate with a crystal ball dropping to ring in the new year.
Because of terrorism fears, security will be extremely tight. New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill said the event will be well-protected.
"People will be safe," he said, according to Reuters. "We're going to have one of the most well-policed, best-protected events in one of the safest venues in the entire world given all the assets that we deploy here."
The city will block off Times Square with 65 garbage trucks and 100 smaller vehicles. A recent truck attack in Berlin, along with the same type of attack in Nice, France last year, have raised the terror threat.
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