Election fever grips New York City

Election night fever gripped New York City as residents flocked to iconic addresses from Times Square to The Empire State Building to watch the results unfold in the close contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
City landmarks such as The Rockefeller Centre and The Empire State Building were lit in blue, red and white - colors of the American flag as the nation got ready to elect its 45th President.
At Times Square, billboards transformed into giant TV screens as leading news networks beamed their election night coverage to the crossroads of the world.
Media outlets set up base across Times Square and tourists and residents alike gathered around the TV set-ups, taking photos and videos.

Shop owners at Times Square occasionally walked out of their shops to watch the election results on the giant LED screens, and people cheered and booed as TV networks began calling out states and projected winners between Clinton and Trump.
Several vendors were seen selling special election night paraphernalia including T-shirts, badges, caps and flags.

Security was particularly tight across the city as New York Police Department personnel and law enforcement officials manned streets and key locations.
Police cordoned off the streets near Trump Towers on the posh Fifth Avenue, the campaign headquarters for the real estate tycoon.
Groups of protesters and supporters gathered across the street from the towers as they demonstrated, drawing the attention of passersby who stopped to take pictures.

Security was unprecedented near the Hilton Hotel in Midtown and the Jacob Javits Convention Centre, the venues for the election night events for Trump and Clinton.
A large number of TV crews stationed themselves around the two locations providing election coverage.
Election night parties were hosted across the city by various groups where supporters gathered to wait for a long night as the results unfolded.
The city's streets were more crowded than usual with residents and tourists pouring on to the roads and taking in the election which has been unprecedented from the word go and whose results will go down in history as game changing for America.

Whilesomeresidents were keenly watching theresults, others expressed a sigh of relief that the long cycle was finally coming to an end.
JohnMartineze, acorporate executive, said he was glad that the elections were coming to end "even though Americans have had to choose between the lesser of the two evils" in Clinton and Trump.