Big Bang

I had not been to a Fourth of July celebration in New York City for many, many years, generally opting for seeing them on TV. This year, however, I was with a friend who had never been to a live fireworks display at all, so it seemed criminal not to take a short stroll to the river and let her witness the Big Bang, New York City style. The display, sponsored by Macy's since 1958, was originally over the Hudson River. Since 1976, Macy's fireworks became a tradition over the East River. This year's display was back over the Hudson and better than ever. The display lasted 26 minutes, with 40,000 shells fired from six barges, located opposite 23rd to 50th Streets in Manhattan, where the West Side Highway was closed to pedestrians for the event. A Hudson River display also affords views from New Jersey, with the added eye candy of the Manhattan skyline as backdrop.

However, getting a viewing location was not as leisurely as one would hope. Police barricades restricted entry to just a handful of crosstown streets - frustrated crowds were directed to streets which in turn had also been closed. We paced up and down 10th Avenue to find entry to the West Side Highway, at last getting in at 24th Street. After a little jockeying for a good position for viewing/photography, we settled in for a spectacular display, on time as always. At the conclusion, traffic was snarled beyond belief - masochism by auto. I recommend seeing the NYC Independence Day fireworks in person, however the only way it makes sense to see any event of this size is by using a combination of subways and walking ...