High-tech cameras, police foot patrols seek to ensure a safe night
Security cameras will keep an eye on Buffalo's New Year’s celebration
Have a good time tonight — just not too good.
Cameras will be watching.
High-tech surveillance cameras and police foot patrols are part of the city’s plan to enhance public safety during New Year’s Eve festivities in downtown Buffalo, where Mayor Byron W. Brown expects up to 40,000 people will gather and watch the ball drop at midnight.
Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson said there were no major security problems downtown last New Year’s Eve, and he hopes to keep it that way tonight.
“We encourage everybody to come down,” the commissioner said during a news conference Tuesday in the historic Electric Building.
The 20th annual First Night Buffalo will begin at 5 p. m. in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, while festivities for 97 Rock’s annual ball drop and fireworks display kick off at 10:30 outside the Electric Tower, 535 Washington St., in Roosevelt Square.
The family-oriented First Night — the annual drug-and alcohol-free New Year’s Eve party presented by Independent Health Foundation — will include amusement rides for the kids, live music and entertainment acts until 10.
Tickets are $10 at the door. Children age 2 and under get in free.
Free parking will be available near the convention center in the Fernbach, Main Place Mall and Turner parking ramps. Look at firstnightbuffalo. org for more details.
Festivities for Buffalo’s annual ball drop pick up at 10:30 with entertainment from Larry Norton of 97 Rock, which started the ball drop 21 years ago.
A special video segment highlighting the University at Buffalo’s football team will be played on the giant screen, as the team prepares for the International Bowl on Saturday in Toronto.
A 15-minute fireworks display, choreographed to classic rock music, will immediately follow the ball drop. There will be free ice skating in Rotary Rink at Fountain Plaza from 11 a. m. today to 1 a. m. Thursday.
Downtown revelers also will celebrate the new year in numerous bars and restaurants.
Since the last New Year’s Eve bash, the city has installed surveillance cameras in six downtown spots. There are devices in the Chippewa Entertainment District, at Main and Court streets, on Pearl Street and in other locations.
As was the case last year, the Police Department also will use a portable surveillance system that allows a camera to be raised up to 25 feet in the air. Events can be monitored from any direction as images are transmitted to a mobile command vehicle.
When the ball drop festivities end, the portable camera will be moved to another undisclosed downtown location to monitor activities, said Gipson.
Brown and Gipson said the city has experienced a 12 percent decrease in violent crime since Brown took office nearly three years ago.
Elsewhere:
• The cities of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda will hold their first New Year’s Eve ball drop in and around Gateway Harbor Park.
A six-foot fiberglass ball will be lowered from the roof of a four-story building on Webster Street in North Tonawanda at midnight, followed by 15 minutes of fireworks over Gateway Harbor.
The event — check out www.gatewayballdrop.com — starts at 6 p. m. with activities for kids, who will have their own ball drop at 9. Live outdoor music will start at 8. • The Village of Wilson will hold the “Lil’ Apple Family Ball Drop” in and around the Wilson Fire Company on Young Street, with free activities beginning at 7 p. m. A ball drop for the kids will be held at 9, followed by the traditional ball drop at midnight.
• Lockport’s fifth annual ball drop will be held in the parking lot of Lockport City Hall. Live music starts at 10:30.
• The State Thruway Authority announced that plaza food concessionaires will offer free coffee or tea to motorists traveling New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
bmeyer@buffnews.com and jrey@buffnews.com
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