PEOPLEWATCH

Havin’ a Ball: Jackie Mason has picked up the ball for New Year’s Eve in Times Square. The people who lower the giant ball at the mass outdoor party in New York each New Year’s Eve found their tradition endangered because no corporate sponsors had come forward. But Mason agreed Tuesday to cover the unspecified costs after divorce lawyer Raoul Felder arranged a meeting between the comedian and Steve Israel, who owns One Times Square, the building where the ball is dropped.