21 Hours At the Party of the Century

by Robert Brodsky, Staff Writer It’s the kind of event that happens only once in a lifetime. New Year’s Eve 1999 in Times Square was set to be the party of the century, with all the world gathering to ring in a new millennium. And Alfred Coakley was not going to miss one minute of it.
Coakley had never been to Times Square for the traditional New Year’s Eve celebration, but the 53-year-old Jamaica, Queens resident knew this party was going to be anything but traditional. "I just wanted to be part of the spectacle," said Coakley.
Coakley arrived at Broadway in Times Square at 6:45 a.m. on Dec. 31, with the hope of getting a good spot. By the time he arrived, Oakley estimates that there were at least 200 people already there. "I met a couple from Maine that had been there since 3 a.m.," said Coakley.
With nearly 17 hours of waiting time to go before the crystal ball dropped on the 20th century, Coakley knew he would have to come prepared with all the essential provisions. Bottled water. Check. Cold food. Check. Folding lawn chair. Check. Millennium hat that ticked away the seconds to 12:00 a.m., Jan.1. Check.
Coakley had planned for this event with careful precision, and no stone had been left unturned. Now he just needed to find something to keep himself busy.
The festivities kicked in at 7 a.m. as Australia welcomed in 2000 with a bevy of fireworks at the Opera House in Sydney. Huge television screens broadcastthe event while giant surround-sound speakers blared the festivities that could be heard throughout much of midtown Manhattan. "It didn’t matter what country we were celebrating," said Coakley.
In the downtime between celebrations, Coakley took the time to get to know the people around him. He met tourists who travelled from as far as Australia, France, and even Somalia for the gala spectacular. And he even met two local New Yorkers. "It was just love," said Coakley. "There was no grumpiness.Everyone was there to celebrate the culmination of the event."
Although everyone had marked out a designated spot that they could call their own, even the most devoted enthusiast needed their share of bathroom breaks. And that meant Coakley would have to learn to trust his supplies, along with his hard-earned two-foot spot with a group of strangers.
"Everyone was looking out for each other," said Coakley. "When you’re in an area for 20 hours, you just have to turn to people and say, ‘Hii I’m Alfred!’ There was a real communal trust."
As millions of worried people packed local hardware stores for flashlights, batteries, and hard hats, Oakley sat down comfortably, right in the middle of what doomsday prophets deemed "ground zero," without a care in the world. Unconcerned about what-ifs like terrorism and Y2K, Coakley felt secure with the 8,000 police officers who guarded Times Square from every possible angle.
Cold and exhausted, Coakley began questioning at 8 p.m. whether he had enough left inside him to finish the evening. However, with the support of his new-found friends around him, Oakley gutted his way with heartfelt jubilation and excitement through millennium celebrations from England to Paris.
Packed to its utmost capacity, the party began to really take off in the 11 o’clock hour. The mayor arrived to a warm reception, as did local celebrities and dignitaries.
Then the countdown began. 60, 59,58. Each number was echoed with the energy and exuberance of a small country. 3, 2, 1. The ball drops. The fireworks go off. Coakley turns around him and without a single thought hugs and kisses all those around him. The millennium has been ushered in and Alfred Coakley has made it.
"That kind of hysterical feeling is felt maybe two or thee times a year on Christmas or Thanksgiving," remarked Coakley. "You wonder what’s missing in all our lives. Why can’t we feel this feeling all year round? You wish you had the formula to nurture this feeling all year."
But, for Coakley, the good times didn’t stop at midnight. A woman in from Texas, a stranger to Coakley only hours earlier, invited him and 12 new friends back up to her suite at the Marriott Marquee for an after party.
By 4 a.m., after over 21 hours, Coakley called it a night and headed home for some rest.
So Alfred, looking back, was it really worth it?