NEW YORK (AP) — Gone were the revelry and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that typify Times Square on New Year’s Eve, replaced by empty streets and an eerie quiet as the final hours of 2020 ticked away. This was New Year’s Eve in the age of COVID-19. Crowd control gave way to crowd prevention, as police closed the Crossroads of the World to vehicles and onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of the glittering, crystal ball that still descended down a flagpole to mark the stroke of midnight. Would-be partygoers were urged to watch the ball drop on television.