Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is hard to escape. It’s the one day of the year when all of Instagram is deluged with proud displays of affection and shops are filled with people buying last-minute gifts.
And there was no shortage of pink and red roses, hearts and chocolates in Manhattan, where residents and tourists from Harlem to the West Village had a lot to say about how they planned to celebrate. For the entire day, we hopscotched around neighborhoods, visited popular attractions and even ventured to the top of a skyscraper to capture the scene.
In Times Square at 11:30 a.m., Valentine’s Day kicked off with a proposal for Nicolette Miller, whose boyfriend of five years, Justin Shadday, surprised her with a billboard display asking for her hand in marriage. He got down on one knee amid cheers from people nearby and confetti falling overhead.
“I’m just like, ‘Good job, I’m so blown away,’” she said to a crowd of reporters and onlookers. “I’m very impressed by his creativity.” The couple was visiting from Austin, Texas, along with their dog, Remi.
