Copyright Newsday Inc., 2003)

Last year, Kathleen Barnea was not in the mood for big party plans on New Year's Eve. No, no, no. The economy had batted too many of her friends around, and they opted for a mellow dinner at a little restaurant in Chelsea.

This year is different. Barnea's got a new public relations job - and a $150 ticket for a bash at the flashy downtown Capitale, where 1,500 revelers in their late 20s are expected to share a buffet, dancing and a midnight champagne toast. "This year, at least for me, things are on an upswing," said Barnea, 25, of Manhattan. "I'm back in action, I would say. We'll be partying like you should on New Year's Eve: a lot of champagne, a lot of fun, a lot of people."

That's the plan as well for Alan Seth, 40, an interior designer from Bellmore. He'll be celebrating at the Huntington Townhouse's New Year's Eve party with his wife, Helen, also 40. While the couple saw out 2002 there, too, this year they hope to fill two tables with family and friends who'll pay $97 each for an all-inclusive evening. "I am trying to recruit other people," Seth said. He wants 20 in all - and he thinks he can pull it off.

Why not? A lot of New York metro residents, like Barnea and the Seths, seem to feel more festive than they have in the four years since the world celebrated the arrival of the year 2000. We've captured Saddam Hussein, the Dow has cleared 10,000 again, and - if New Year's Eve is a reflection of the mood of New Yorkers - we're optimistic.

Even though another Code Orange blanketing the nation might be giving some party planners who-needs-this- now agita, they say their New Year's Eve festivities will go full steam ahead. "We've seen this before," said Ariana Gordon, president of Joonbug Productions, which is producing the party at Capitale and has tickets to 20 other Manhattan venues for sale on the Joonbug Web site. "How many times have we been told, 'The alert has been raised, the alert has been lowered'? Unfortunately, it's part of our life now."

New Year's Eve can see heavy last- minute bookings, and it won't be clear until next week whether the terrorism alert will put an unexpected damper on the night. Tavern on the Green, for instance, did see some cancellations of Christmas Day reservations, said Michael Desiderio, managing director. "It slowed everything down," Desiderio said.

But for many, the New Year's Eve plan right now is to show off the tux and bling-bling for a festive night on the town. Early this week, party planners reported ticket sales were brisk, and some said they were far ahead of the same date in 2002 - especially on Long Island. "This year is the first year since the millennium that we're seeing a robust demand," said Brian Rosenberg, vice president of special events at the Garden City Hotel.

It's not that we're back to the days when Guy Lombardo packed the 1,500-seat Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria. New Year's Eve sales are still relatively soft at the Waldorf, and that hotel isn't expecting enough party-goers to move its event from the 600-seat Starlight Roof back to the ballroom, where it's been held every year of the past 20 except for 2001 and 2003. However, hotel employees are expecting more splashy glitter than somber New York black. "It's sequins and bangles and sparkles when things are great," said Jim Blauvelt, the Waldorf's executive director of catering, who's been working New Year's at the landmark hotel for two decades.

For sure, New Yorkers have been on an emotional roller coaster for the past few New Year's Eves. In the late 1990s we were way, way up; New Year's oozed luxury and extravagance. As we welcomed 2000, the millennial hype reached frenetic levels. Some merrymakers dropped hundreds if not thousands to be part of festivities at venues such as the tried-and-true Waldorf-Astoria; many celebrated quietly close to home in fear that the Y2K computer meltdown predictions would come to pass at the stroke of midnight and create unimaginable chaos.

The next New Year's seemed anticlimactic. "After that, it was like, 'What do you do for an encore?'" said the Garden City Hotel's Rosenberg. Plus some people had been turned off to organized partying because of the inflated prices that had been charged for the millennium, he and other party organizers said. So 2001 began unmemorably for many.

Then came Sept. 11. New Year's Eve was noticeably subdued. Catering halls tempered parties by adopting patriotic themes, the Waldorf played "The Star-Spangled Banner" directly after "Auld Lang Syne," and people felt jubilation would be in poor taste. "It felt weird to be dancing on a table," said Barnea, who didn't.

Last year, we were still unsteady and adjusting to the new world we live in; the economy had plunged as dramatically as the ball in Times Square.

But this year, well, bring on the bubbly. "People are starting to come back to themselves. They don't feel guilty going out New Year's," said Elliot Hurdy, president of the Huntington Townhouse, which is throwing two parties, one for ages 21 to the mid-30s, the other for people older than that. He expects 1,500 guests at the former and 800 at the latter, compared with 1,200 and 600 in 2002.

Gurney's Inn in Montauk is expecting to sell out, as it did last year, said spokeswoman Ingrid Lemme. "People are eager to celebrate, start a new year," she said.

At the Rainbow Room, on the 65th floor of the NBC Building in Manhattan's Rockefeller Center, general manager Chris Edmonds said he expects up to 450 people to dance a conga line inspired by a 15- piece orchestra.

Of course, there will always be people who would rather don slippers than sequins on New Year's. "We're probably going to end up doing something quiet, an early dinner," said Carol Schwartz, a retired Hicksville schoolteacher, speaking for herself and her husband, Neil, also a retired teacher in his 50s.

Michael Sturman, 58, of Bayside, is also planning to get together locally with friends. But he said his mood matches the more adventuresome party-goers. "People seem up. People seem like they've got a better perspective than last year. Maybe it's the distance from 9/11. Time heals things. Times give you more strength."

For those who like the hoopla, this year does seem to offer a chance to celebrate with a lighter heart. "I just feel better," said Kavita Payyar, a 30-year-old acupuncturist who lives in New York City and said her fiance is surprising her by taking her to a New Year's Eve party at a Manhattan hotel. "It just feels much lighter. The stress of 9/11 was very much prominent last year. It just felt very there.

"Things have subsided. I just feel it's gotten back to normal. The festivity feeling is there. Last year, I didn't do much. This year, I feel like going out."