NEW YORK (PIX11) — A Connecticut man wanted an extra special way to propose to his girlfriend of six years. Jose Negron, of Waterbury, chose to pop the question to his girlfriend, Alicia, in Times Square— beneath a giant billboard reading, “Will You Marry Me?” over a picture the couple and their son.

People all around stopped and applauded as they realized what was happening with Negron on one knee under the billboard. And Alicia said “yes!”

“I’m shocked! Very surprised. I looked up and I saw the ‘Will you marry me?'” Alicia said

Negron booked his photo on the billboard through Timessquarebillboard.com for $150. Jaime Suarez, owner of the billboard, said he came up with the idea during COVID.

For individuals like Negron, the image appeared for 15 seconds once per hour for 24 hours. Local businesses can advertise on it for $500 per day, displaying 60 seconds of video or a photo once per hour for 24 hours.

“Before, it was unimaginable. It was millions of dollars to be on a billboard. We’ve gotten over 1,000 photos up there [since December 15],” Suarez said.