"New Year's is a time when people both reflect about where they've been and look ahead to where they're going," said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. "Given all the economic, social and political changes going on, Americans seem to be a bit unsure of what's ahead. They seem to be aware that there is no quick-fix and that it'll take time for things to get better. Nevertheless, there's a feeling of hope - a feeling that if we can get past these challenging times, better things are ahead for us and the next generation."

• 75% think the current year was worse for the world than the previous year, compared to only 39% who said that a year ago.
• Last year 59% said the current year was better for them personally than the previous year; this year only 32% said it was better.
• People's predictions were too optimistic last year. Only 20% had predicted 2008 would be worse than 2007, but now 75% are saying that 2008 was in fact a worse year for the world than 2007.
• Only 43 % of respondents think next year will be better for them personally, compared to 59% who said that a year ago.
  • Young people more optimistic, with 57.9% expecting 2009 to be better
  • Lower income respondents ($25K or less) are the least optimistic about the New Year
• Only 40% of respondents expect those born in 2009 to have a better quality of life than the generations before them
  • Almost 50% of young people expect the next generation to be better off
  • Only 30% of seniors feel that the next generation will be better off than those previous

THE FIRST KISS OF THE YEAR

Most respondents will usher in the New Year with a quick peck with a loved one at midnight, while 1 in 5 will kiss nobody. And if you're young and single, expectations of that first kiss of 2009 are greater.

• 67% of all people will kiss a loved one at midnight on New Year's Eve, while almost 20% will kiss nobody.
  • 10% of all married people expect to kiss no one at midnight
• 69% expect their kiss to last "a few seconds," 11% expect it to last "a minute or two," and 6% expect it to last "until the next morning."
  • Almost 20% of respondents 18 - 24 expect the New Year's kiss to last "until the next morning" while only 2% of those over 55 expect so.

MAN'S BEST FRIEND

"We've discovered over the four years that we've been conducting this survey that people love seeing in the New Year with their pet," says Tompkins. "I guess it's that pure joy and unconditional optimism that animals have that people love to be around."

• More people will kiss their pet at midnight than will kiss a friend.
• Women are 4.5 times as likely to spend New Year's Eve with a pet than men are.
• Democrats are more likely than Republicans to spend New Year's Eve with a pet.

As has been true since 1908 when the first ball dropped in Times Square, many Americans will be celebrating at home with family or friends watching the festivities in Times Square on television. "In a very unique way, Americans throughout the country are united at midnight as we watch the Ball Drop and countdown the final seconds of 2007 together," said Jeff Straus, President of Countdown Entertainment.

TINA FEY vs SARAH PALIN

When it comes to who they would rather spend New Year's Eve with, respondents were split down the middle, with Fey and Palin each drawing 39% of the vote.

AND GOOD RIDDANCE TO...

Participants were asked an open-ended question about the one thing from 2008 to which they would most like to say "Good Riddance." "Politics was clearly on people's minds," said Straus, with more people wanting to say "Good Riddance" to George Bush than to anything else; he was mentioned more than twice as often as the second item, which was the 2008 election. Economic issues (high gas, economic collapse, stock market) were not far behind, capturing 4 of the top ten spots. Whereas "war" was the #1 item people wanted to say "Good Riddance" to a year ago, it was #16 on the list this year.

Survey Methodology [Zogby Interactive Adults] 12/12/08 thru 12/15/08

Zogby International was commissioned by the Times Square Alliance to conduct an online survey of 2,000 adults. A sampling of Zogby International's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the U.S., was invited to participate. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, gender, and education to more accurately reflect the population. The margin of error is +/- 2.2 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

Contact: Rubenstein Communications, Inc. - Public Relations

Andy Shearer (212) 843-8061

Thomas Chiodo (212) 843-8289