Seasonal & Holidays
WaHi Science Teacher, Students To Start 2020 Times Square Party
The uptown school representatives were invited because of their work on an environmental project.
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A Washington Heights science teacher and two of his students will help the world celebrate the arrival of 2020 when they press the button that begins Times Square's famous 60-second ball drop and countdown to next year.
Jared Fox, who teaches at the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School, and seniors Ricardo Herrera and Diane Arevalo were invited to help launch the new decade.
"On New Year's Eve, we look back and reflect on the dominant themes of the past year and seek hope and inspiration as we look forward," Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins said in a statement Saturday announcing the plan.
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The honorees, he said, "are working to solve this global problem through science."
The Expeditionary Learning School team has been working on a clean-air and greening project.
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Aida Rosenbaum, a Bronx Latin School teacher, and seniors Daniel Soto and Van Troy Ulloa have also been invited. They led a fundraising walk to raise money for places without clean water.
Young climate activists gained new prominence this year, when Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg sparked school strikes around the world after she began skipping class to press for more action on fighting global warming.
She created a memorable moment at a U.N. climate summit this fall when she repeatedly scolded world leaders: "How dare you!" Time magazine later chose the 16-year-old Thunberg as its Person of the Year.
But 2019 also was a year of setbacks and disappointment for climate activists.
The Trump administration began the process of withdrawing the United States from the Paris agreement to curb emissions, and marathon U.N. climate talks this month ended with no major breakthrough as large-scale polluters balked at intensifying the fight against global warming.
The Times Square New Year's Eve bash and broadcast is also set to feature entertainers including Post Malone, K-pop group BTS, country singer Sam Hunt and singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette.