Times Square – New York City

Although it is the epicenter of electronic billboards, shopping, and finding tickets to broadway, it’s most known for New Years Eve when the ball first drops on the Eastern Time zone. One hour or more later, the rest of the country follows. However, if you’d like to purchase a billboard in Times Square, plan on forking out $1 to $4 million a year or $3 million a month to be on Time Square’s largest billboard.

The race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex.

– Dan Rather following the 2005 election

When I was here twenty years ago, there were a lot of designer knockoffs everywhere. Counterfeit products were rapid. Ten years later, street vendors would approach you and bring you back to their warehouse a few blocks away to sell you their latest goods. This time in New York City, no one approached me. That says a lot about the fight against counterfeits — it’s working.

You will see many characters in costume walking around in Times Square (such as Elmo, Superman, etc.). It’s important to note that this is how they make their living, many don’t speak English and are just trying to put food on the table.

They stand inside blue rectangular boxes on the pavement. Due to tourist complaints, these lines were put in place in 2016. Tourists felt the characters were getting out of hand. The characters must now stay within these blue rectangular boxes. There is a $500 fine or jail if they cross a line and get caught.

This square used to be called ‘Longacre Square’ until the NY Times moved into the area. That’s when the name officially changed to ‘Times Square’. This is odd because really it’s really not a square, it’s more like two triangles.

The area became smoke-free in 2011.