Security was increased further for 2017 – 2018 edition due to recent incidents such as the truck attack in New York on October 31 , and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting ; these included additional patrols of Times Square hotels , rooftop patrol squads and counter-snipers , and the installation of reflective markers on buildings to help officers identify the location of elevated shooters . For 2018 – 19 , the NYPD announced its intent to use a camera-equipped quadcopter to augment the over 1,200 fixed cameras monitoring Times Square . However , due to the rainy conditions , the quadcopter was ultimately left unused
truck attack in New York on October 31
2017 New York City truck attack
Times Square Ball