The Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop isn’t new — it’s been dropping since 1907 — but this year’s centerpiece is. The Constellation Ball is the ninth such orb and, according to organizers, the biggest one yet, weighing 12,350 pounds and dripping with 5,280 Waterford crystals and LEDs.
To see it in person, the viewing area opens to the public at 3 p.m., but revelers get there well beforehand. The drop is streaming at timessquareball.net and on the Times Square Alliance website, your source for how to navigate your night in the neighborhood. And if you want some entertainment along with video of the ball drop, consider these options: ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2026,” featuring Diana Ross, Rita Ora, Chance the Rapper and others; “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash,” with a bill topped by Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman, on CBS; and CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live,” hosted by Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper. All shows start at 8 p.m.
If you have children in tow, reserve a spot at Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, where the music starts at 10 p.m. and a fireworks display at the stroke of midnight. For something warmer and less crowded, board the Star of the Northeast at Pier 36 before it sets sail at 9:30 p.m. Its family-friendly cruise offers a buffet dinner, music and views of the Statue of Liberty and other New York City landmarks.
Dancing
Don your best bell bottoms and platform heels for Gimme Gimme Disco, a 1970s-themed Abba dance party at Irving Plaza near Union Square, starting at 8 p.m. Nicole Paige Brooks and Mistress Isabelle Brooks are among the drag queens celebrating New Queers Eve! at Three Dollar Bill in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (doors at 9 p.m.). And party from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. — on Jan. 2, that is — at the marathon Nonstop New Year’s bash at Nowadays in Ridgewood, Queens.
Splurges
The Midtown skyscraper Summit One Vanderbilt offers panoramic views of the city and fireworks during its party across three floors, which starts at 10 p.m. A $300 ticket gets you cocktails, a midnight champagne toast, a dessert bar and dancing.
At Bar 54, atop the Hyatt Centric Times Square, a black-tie-optional party beginning at 9 p.m. also provides killer sights of the ball drop from indoors and out. Tickets start at $1,599, with a private table for two going for almost $8,500, with fees.
The Soho Grand Hotel welcomes Baby New Year with its 16th annual Black & White Masquerade Ball, a tribute to Truman Capote’s fabled 1966 masked ball at the Plaza. Attire is black tie, decorative masks are mandatory and “dancing is obligatory,” according to the press release. The party goes from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.; tickets are currently sold out, but more are expected to become available a few days before the ball.
Comedy
If you found nothing funny about 2025, start 2026 with some laughs whether they’re delivered by Louis CK at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn (8:30 p.m.); Zarna Garg at the West Side Comedy Club on the Upper West Side (8 and 10 p.m.); or Nicky Sunshine and Jamie Roberts at Comedy in Harlem (10:30 p.m.).
Pop Music
It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve in New York City without an annual show by Gov’t Mule at the Beacon Theater (9 p.m.). Or make like Kiss and rock ’n’ roll all night at the marathon Dusk ’Til Dawn New Year’s Eve Ball at TV Eye in Ridgewood, Queens. The event features multiple rooms of globe-spanning performances, with acts like the psychedelic cumbia band Tropa Magica and the garage-punk group Paint Fumes, as well as a lineup of 25 D.J.s. Dance your behind off from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Classical Music
Catch a 6 p.m. performance of “I Puritani” at the Metropolitan Opera, its first new production of Bellini’s opera in almost 50 years. Or head to the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is the centerpiece of the New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, starting at 7 p.m.
Jazz
The bassist and composer Carlos Henriquez and his nonet are at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center for “A Nuyorican Tale,” an evening of Afro-Cuban music and storytelling with performances at 7:30 and 11 p.m. Tickets to the later set include a champagne toast.
Watch a Movie
Make your own double-feature day at the Metrograph Theater on the Lower East Side. For a daring pairing, try Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord” (1 p.m.) and Jean-Luc Godard’s “Alphaville” (5:45 p.m.) or Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” (6:10 p.m.) and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread” (9:20 p.m.). The theater’s Commissary restaurant can keep you fueled between screenings.
See a Show
Spend the afternoon with the Rockettes in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (11 a.m. and 2 p.m.) or with those clowns at the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center (noon) or with the lovely Sugar Plum Fairies at “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” (2 p.m.). Broadway offers matinees of the musicals “Aladdin” (1 p.m.) and “Ragtime” (2 p.m.).
Take the Kids Out Early
If you want to ensure your children are exhausted before midnight, the Rock and Roll Playhouse, a dance concert series for ages 10 and under, presents a Taylor Swift Noon Year’s Eve party at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg.
Kids are also welcome — except for pesky hecklers — at “Milk and Cookies,” a clean-set comedy show at 4 and 6 p.m. at the West Side Comedy Club.
Other options include skating at the rink at Rockefeller Center, with tickets available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; the Noon Year’s Eve Countdown With the Kiddos party at the Bronx Children’s Museum, which starts at 10 a.m.; and Countdown Parties at noon and 2 p.m. at the Staten Island Children’s Museum, with performances by Patrick and the Rock-a-Silly Band.
Be Serenaded
At 97, Marilyn Maye remains one of the New York City cabaret performers. She’s at Birdland for an 11 p.m. set. Other options in Midtown West include Natalie Joy Johnson at the Green Room 42 at 10 p.m., and Charles Busch at 7 p.m. and Joy Woods at 11 p.m. at 54 Below. Sandra Bernhard performs at Joe’s Pub in NoHo at 8:30 and 11 p.m.
Make Something
If your 2026 resolution is to eat more pasta — and whose isn’t? — at Eataly in the Flatiron district you can spend an afternoon tasting and making the stuff. The 90-minute class starts at 4 p.m. with a sampling of tagliatelle and Bolognese ragú, and ends with you taking home your own handmade batch of fresh pasta dough and noodles.
Move It
Work off that pasta at the New York Road Runner’s annual Midnight Run, a four-mile course that kicks off with a fireworks display and winds through Central Park. Tickets are sold out, but there’s a members-only standby list.
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