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Preparation Underway For New Year's Eve Festivities; Droves Of Tourists Expected In Times Square

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City is now drawing record numbers of tourists and more are expected to flock to Times Square for New Year's Eve.

The gridlock there isn't just in the streets, it's on the sidewalks as well, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.

"We have about five million visitors expected to come between Thanksgiving and New Years," said Christopher Haywood with NYC and Company, which is the city's tourism arm. 

An estimated 450,000 of them are at the crossroads of the world every day.

"It means spending across the city about billion dollars in hotel tax revenues," Haywood said.

Related: Numbers Arrive For New Year's Eve Celebration In Times Square

Those who live or work in the area, like Tim Tompkins of the Times Square Alliance, know it's a pain.

"Yes, it means that it's a little crowded for the rest of us. But it also means that it's literately hundreds of thousands of jobs for New Yorkers," he said.

Things typically quiet down after New Year's.

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