The ball dropped, the confetti swirled and New York seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as it left 2001 behind. Seasoned revellers said the celebrations on Monday night were more subdued than usual but half a million people wrapped up warmly in red, white and blue for a patriotic party in Times Square.
The New Year also meant a new mayor. Mr Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman with little political experience, was officially inaugurated yesterday in a ceremony at City Hall, where he said New Yorkers could look forward to "a better tomorrow".
He replaced Mr Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani - Time Magazines's person of the year and mayor for eight years - who raised the spirits of dazed citizens in the wake of the September 11th attacks.
Security was tighter than ever as the shivering masses, accompanied by 7,000 members of the NYPD, braved the freezing winds that whipped through Broadway. From the rooftops police sharp shooters scanned the crowds, bags were searched at checkpoints, trained dogs sniffed for bombs and some officers carried radiation sensors in case of a nuclear attack.
From 6 p.m., when the bells of churches across the city rang out in memory of the victims, the crowds congregated around Number One Times Square - an address almost entirely obscured by the area's trademark giant neon advertisements. In a tradition dating back to 1907 a ball positioned above the building descends as the countdown to the New Year begins.
This year, the Waterford Wedgewood ball reflected the events of September 11th. "We felt it was important to do something different than what we originally had planned," said Mr Pete Cheyney of Waterford Wedgewood. "The theme this year is healing and the ball's triangular panels have been engraved with the names of countries, the hijacked flights, the police precincts and the firehouses who lost people in the attacks."
Some lucky tourists had a bird's eye view from what are known as "ball-view" rooms high up in nearby hotels. On the ground, organisers handed out 20,000 pom poms, 5,000 US flags, 10,000 balloons and 10,000 disposable cameras to the rosy-cheeked but smiling crowds. Daniel, an airline pilot from Florida, said it felt special to be in Times Square after the events of September 11th. "Everybody is doing what Mayor Giulilani said we should do, which is not to let this beat us and to carry on as normal."
This week the streets have been full of tourists doing just that, flocking to the theatres, the bargain-filled shops and clamouring to see the newest attraction the city has to offer, the Ground Zero viewing platform at the site of the attacks.
The queue - often bigger than for the Empire State Building - has been stopping the traffic since the wooden-ramped structure opened at Fulton Street on Sunday. People line up for an average of two hours, reading the messages and tributes to victims outside St Paul's Chapel where Ground Zero workers can avail of food, hot drinks or even a massage. Police officers allow a couple of minutes for gazing at the hole that was torn out of Manhattan. The clatter of construction cuts through the silence. Tears are wiped away, photos are taken and supportive messages scrawled on the wooden ledge before the sombre visitors are moved along. "I just had to come," said a pale-faced woman from Washington. "You have to see it with your own eyes and I wanted to show solidarity".
Local traders, hit badly by the economic impact of the attacks, were busy selling September 11th-related souveniers including Fire Department of New York hats, scarves and T-shirts. The influx of tourists at the beginning of the New Year was a positive development, said one street vendor: "They come for closure and stay to shop afterwards."