Small vaxxed crowd can watch ball drop

The relatively small number of revelers in Times Square for New Year’s Eve can look forward to a safe celebration — though anti-vaxxers aren’t invited, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Thursday.

One year after Times Square resembled a ghost town for the ball drop bash, the Crossroads of the World will look more like a small town. Only 15,000 people will be allowed to the party, all of whom must wear masks and prove they’re vaccinated.

The Times Square Alliance will check the records of every celebrant before they pass through an NYPD security checkpoint, with any anti-vax protester barred from the party, but allowed to voice their opinion.

“If it comes up we’ll deal with it,” Shea said. “Allowing people their constitutional right to protest — we’ll (do that) tomorrow as we do every day, but the show is going to go one.”

Mayor de Blasio opted to proceed with the scaled-back celebration despite record-setting coronavirus infections in the state due to the omicron variant. On Thursday, the daily case tally hit a record 74,207. More than one out of five COVID test results in the Empire State — 22% — came back positive.

The NYPD set its own record on Thursday since the onset of the pandemic, with 21% of the force out sick. Earlier this week, the department ordered cops who had planned to take days off on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day to show up to work.

Shea said the celebration will feature the same large police presence as in normal years, with special attention devoted to preventing a terror attack.

The city’s top cop said there is no credible threat aimed at the celebration, but noted that the Counterterrorism Bureau will be out in full force. Partiers can expect to see cops with long guns, bomb-sniffing dogs, radiation and drone detectors and police and sanitation vehicles filled with sand parked at intersections to thwart a potential suicide bomber.

The police will restrict access from W. 38th to W. 59th Streets and from Fifth to Ninth Aves. starting at 4 a.m. Friday. Access to subway stations around Times Square will also be limited.

Alcohol is prohibited, as are large bags, backpacks and chairs.