A massive crowd jammed into New York City’s Times Square for the New Year’s Eve ball drop which marks the beginning of the year 2014. US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor led the final countdown and pushed the ceremonial button to bring down the ball.
The Times Square Ball is a time ball located in New York City’s Times Square. Located on the roof of One Times Square, the ball is a prominent part of a New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square colloquially known as the ball drop, where the ball descends 141 feet (43 m) in 60 seconds down a specially designed flagpole, beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET, and resting at midnight to signal the start of the new year.