Times Square NYC, NY for New Years and Millennium

We were able to book our hotel 1 year in advance at the Best Western Seaport Inn on Peck Slip adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge, which is only a few subway stops from Times Square. Since we are a military family, we staged out of the USO at the NY Bus Station and made our way out into the 43-degree weather about 5PM. Our goal was not to be in Times Square which was already full but to be able to see "The Ball" drop. Each city block had about 10,000 people and 300 police assigned to keep order. We ended up at 7th Avenue and West 53rd Street near Martini's Restaurant & Bar and the Sheraton New York Hotel. Once each block filled up, the police put up barriers to keep anyone from entering or exiting each block. We did not have aceess to restrooms after about 8PM. We obtained a pizza by tossing pebbles at the window of Ray's Pizza joint until they came outside and took our order over the fence baricade. We met quite a few people from around the world and had a fantastic time! It was our first trip to New York City and we fell in love with NYC that we've been back about 8 times in 8 years.