Watch the Exact Moment It Becomes 2018

Give it up for 2018! 👏👏👏 HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! #RockinEve [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

The ball dropped in New York City's Times Square, meaning that it's officially 2018 for the East Coast. The ball drop went off without any trouble, as New York officials took every precaution to make sure it all went as planned.

The New York Police Department had an unprecedented presence at this year's festivities, which came three months after eight people were killed in a terror attack in Manhattan on Halloween. The shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 was also fresh in officials' minds.

According to WABC, the NYPD put in additional checkpoints, and closed off more garages and streets to make Times Square safer for the 1 million spectators.

"The NYPD Is amazing, they've dealt with this many many years, but they've stepped it up a little bit," the head of the Times Square Alliance Tim Tompkins told WABC. "They have extra vehicle blockers at different intersections and a very heavy undercover presence especially in the hotels, because they learned from Las Vegas."

Closures started at 11 a.m., with traffic stopped on parts of 37th to 59th Streets and Sixth to Eighth Avenues. Concrete blocks, blocker cars and sand trucks were brought in to clock off intersections to make car attacks impossible. Backpacks, large bags and umbrellas were also barred from Times Square.

On the entertainment side, all eyes were on Mariah Carey, who performed during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve a year after her disastrous performance in 2016. TMZ reported that she took part in the soundcheck rehearsal this year to make sure nothing goes wrong.

The last place in the world to see the New Year is American Samoa. Residents there won't welcome in 2018 until 7 a.m. ET/6 a.m. CT.

Photo credit: Getty

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