Times Square preps for record New Year's Eve crowd

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- The biggest New Year's Eve party is just around the corner, when hundreds of thousands will ring in 2012 in Times Square.

And New York City is ready.

Bomb-sniffing dogs, as well as uniformed and plainclothes officers, will be among the throngs of revelers.

It is certainly not easy to keep 750,000 to 1 million people safe, but that's exactly what the NYPD does every year. From helicopters in the air with infrared lights to thousands of officers on the ground, the NYPD is making use of all its resources.

"We want everybody to have a great holiday and be safe and enjoy it," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "Every year, I've gone now for 10 years, it is one of the most exciting things."

Larger than usual crowds are already paralyzing Times Square traffic.

Police are moving baracades for when they block all traffic along Broadway and 7th from Central Park and for six blocks in every direction from the center of the square starting at 2:30 Saturday afternoon.

None of that is stopping folks from across the planet from joining the party.

This year, the excitement could reach unprecedented levels. Bloomberg says unusually warm weather should draw a record crowd. Yet the NYPD says it will be ready.

"I like to think that we do this pretty well," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "We have a lot of experience at doing it."

Kelly says the department changes its specific game plan from year to year. However, as with previous New Year's celebrations, the NYPD is planning to deploy thousands of officers. That includes hundreds running checkpoints, dozens on horseback, and still more in plainclothes mingling with the crowd.

It is a crowd that will be mostly concerned about watching the ball drop with Bloomberg and special guest Lady Gaga.

"I have never met Lady Gaga," Bloomberg said. "I saw her once perform at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I thought she was a great entertainer, but I do not personally know her. And I am looking forward to it."

Justin Bieber will also be performing at the event. Officers will be carrying chemical- and biological-detecting devices. Officials say there has been no specific threat, but that security is always a concern on New Year's Eve in New York City.

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