<Li> 2016--2017: Rachel Platten </Li> <P> After the conclusion of the festivities and the dispersal of attendees, cleanup is performed overnight to remove confetti and other debris from Times Square before it is re-opened to the public the following morning . Few traces of the previous night's celebration remain after the cleanup process is completed: following the 2013--14 drop, the New York City Department of Sanitation estimated that by 8: 00 a.m., it had cleared over 50 tons of refuse from Times Square, using 190 workers from their own crews and the Times Square Alliance . </P> <P> The first New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square was held on December 31, 1904; The New York Times' owner, Adolph Ochs, decided to celebrate the opening of the newspaper's new headquarters, One Times Square, with a New Year's fireworks show on the roof of the building to welcome 1905 . Close to 200,000 people attended the event, displacing traditional celebrations that had normally been held at Trinity Church . However, following several years of fireworks shows, Ochs wanted a bigger spectacle at the building to draw more attention to the area . The newspaper's chief electrician, Walter F. Palmer, suggested using a time ball, after seeing one used on the nearby Western Union Building . </P> <P> Ochs hired sign designer Artkraft Strauss to construct a ball for the celebration; it was built from iron and wood, electrically lit with one hundred incandescent light bulbs, weighed 700 pounds (320 kg), and measured 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter . The ball was hoisted on the building's flagpole with rope by a team of six men . Once it hit the roof of the building, the ball was designed to complete an electric circuit to light a 5 - foot tall sign indicating the new year, and trigger a fireworks show . The first ever "ball drop" was held on December 31, 1907, welcoming the year 1908 . </P>

Why do they drop the ball on new years
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