A former Mount Isa journalist has been in the thick of the excitement after New York celebrated the Joe Biden victory on the weekend.
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Emma Cillekens, who worked for the North West Star and then ABC North West Queensland before moving to Manhattan in 2016, was walking home from work when the news came through the presidential election had been called for Mr Biden after four days.
"I heard a woman screaming from her apartment, someone asked her what was going on and she said Biden won," Ms Cillekens said,
"I grabbed my phone to refresh, as I had been for the past few days and I saw that Biden was the projected winner."
Ms Cillekens said what followed was an incredible part of history to witness.
"I heard more and more people yelling in celebration outside of their apartment windows and people flocking to the streets," she said.
"They had bells, and pots and pans. Then a chorus of horns joined in the celebrations and people dressed in clothing with Biden's name."
Ms Cillekens immediately put her journalist hat on and scoured the streets to gauge reaction saying the energy was electric.
"We had been preparing for protests and riots, but what we got was a party," she said.
She said she didn't see any President Trump supporters out on the street.
"I live in Washington Heights which is pretty quiet compared with busier parts of the city," she said.
"My friends were sending me photos and videos in parts of Brooklyn, Times Square and near New York University in Washington Square Park and those areas looked like a big party as well."
Ms Cillekens said everyone in her neighborhood was wearing masks.
"But I saw lots of photos where people were not," she said.
While Mr Biden is now set to be sworn into office in January she said there was still an air of uncertainty about the immediate future.
"Donald Trump is still refusing to concede, so I am not sure exactly what to expect during the next days or weeks," she said.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
