On Tuesday, ahead of the New Year's Eve ball drop, dozens of stalls from across the city gathered in midtown Manhattan, selling wares by the minute and also revealing one of the places where you can get quirky items.
“My mom talked to the family here and they said, 'Go to the factory at Flushing Avenue and Knickerbocker Avenue.' [in Brooklyn]. We bought everything there,” said Vladimir, who only gave his first name, while running a stand full of New Year's hats, glasses and balloons on the corner of 50th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. said a 15-year-old boy who gave his name. With his mother Maria (39).
The pair of immigrants, who came from Ecuador earlier this year and have been selling mango slices in Central Park since their arrival, decided to strike it big on Tuesday, buying hats for $10 and glasses for $5. He said he decided to peddle it.
“We started an hour ago. We sold 51 hats and 62 glasses,” the teenager said. “It’s a good place, it will be. [a] Today was a very long day so we started a little late.
“We were on the train from Brooklyn around 10 a.m.,” he added. “Spots filled up very quickly. Later we will move closer [to Times Square]”
Dwayne Hibbert, a 60-year-old chef from Jamaica who has lived in New York City for the past 30 years, was hawking hats, glasses and noise makers on the corner of 48th Street and Sixth Avenue.
“This entrance is the best,” he said, noting that his location is near the subway lines where the Times Square ball drop crowd gathers. “We came early.
“This is not the first time we've had people from Brooklyn, people from Queens, people from the Bronx show up a little late and get their seats taken away.”
The Manhattan resident said he takes up side hustles to make extra money during the holidays.
“Everyone needs extra fabric right now,” he said. “When it gets cold at night, people start looking for something to warm them up, so we also sell these earmuffs. Last night it worked — [but] Tonight will be better. ”
Guatemalan tourists Thelma Sarabia and Jose Corrado were among the vendor's regular customers, buying two New Year's hats for $10 each near Radio City Music Hall.
“I chose one without the year so I could use it next year,” Sarabia said.
“We bought these to make sure we don't forget our visit here in New York. We came to see the Rockets show. We're just staying here for the night.” the customer said.
The couple said they were unsure whether they would be able to watch the ball drop. It wasn't because of the huge crowd that had already gathered in Times Square, but because of the skies that threatened to rain heavily on the estimated 1 million attendees.
“If the weather is nice, you'll see the ball drop tonight,” Sarabia said.
