Actaully, that was a native NYer joke. Of course there are people who work in Times Square every day, media people, et cetera.
But is a fact that the overwhelming percentage of people you see on TV every year, those who sit for hours in cattle pens to "watch the ball drop," are from somewhere else.
If I search my mind, I probably do know a few NYers who have done this once in their lives, but it was always because there was someone visiting from out of town. There are some things native NYers just don't do (or don't admit it anyway), because it's just "too touristy." On top of that list, ahead of visiting the Statue of Liberty, is spending New Year's Eve in Times Square. If you are not aware of this, I'm guessing you are not a New Yorker.