Hello Everyone!

Today I’m going to talk about one of my “first time” in New York City. Although I moved here more than one year ago, for the first time this year I saw for the fireworks for celebrate the 4th of July, the “Independence Day”.

All over the United States, this holiday is so special and important and everywhere the traditional way to celebrate it is an amazing fireworks show. Also in New York there are a lot of these shows across  the five Boroughs. 40 years ago, Macy’s started to sponsorize his own fireworks and it become a tradition since our days (indeed in 2016 is the 40th anniversary of Macy’s fireworks). Macy’s is one of the most important sponsor in the City, you can understand how much it is important if you think about its Thanksgiving parade. Actually also the annual grand opening of the new spring windows of Macy’s at Herald Square is one of the most important date in the spring.

Macy’s fireworks are, as usual, in the East River around Pier 17 between 23rd and 37th street. There are many other fireworks show: the Jersey City’s fireworks on LIberty State Park, in which you can have a waterfront of fireworks in front of the Statue of Liberty; the ones in Coney Island Beach and Long Island at Oyster Bay and also on the west side, at yonkers Municipal Pier (on the Hudson River).
I saw the fireworks in the East River. There are a lot of spots for viewing the show, although almost all the East River is closed from Battery Park to almost 60th street, you can see the fireworks show on the FDR (the highway that runs along the east river Esplanade). You can access to the FDR only from some specific lanes and points in which the police scans and checks everyone carefully

You can have an amazing view from Brooklyn Bridge Park and from Brooklyn Promenade, from which you can see the fireworks with an incredible Manhattan background. Another good place for an awesome view is Greenpoint (I suggest Berry Park) or other similar place in Queens, from Queens indeed, you can have the Manhattan’s skyline beyond the fireworks. Also financial District, especially South Street Seaport is a good spot.

I suggest to check on the governative site what you can bring with you. For example umbrellas, backpack and huge bags are avoid. It is better to check before for avoiding that the police officer confiscates your stuff.

Romantic people can book a cruise along the river for enjoy the show from the boat (I suggest to book early because there are few places).
At last, but not least: the Rooftops. Public rooftops, bar (in this case, maybe you need a reservation, or to come in advance) or condo’s rooftop, it doesn’t matter, from my point of view they are the best solution for enjoying the fireworks without stress, without long lines and in a comfortable way. I suggest to check your view befor make your reservation…

Our apartment is in a perfect spot, it is in East Midtown, between empire State Building and East RIver, and it is enough tall for having a pretty clear view. Exceptionally, for this holiday it is allowed to go up the rooftop and enjoy the Macy’s fireworks pretty well. For all these reason we decided to watch the show in the comfort of our rooftop.

The fireworks start at 9.25 pm and take almost 30 minutes.

Here some pics and video from my rooftop of the 4th of july 2016

I think there is not much to add. But I suggest to plan a visit in New York City during this particular Holiday and I suggest to find a good location for enjoying it.

I hope you enjoy the post and the video, and I also hope you like my way to share with you some part of my life in New York. Let me know , in the comment box, if you had never seen the 4th of July’s fireworks or if you plan to see it in the future.

We’ll see soon in the next post!

Stay Tuned!

Tricks in this post:
1. Best spots for seeing the 4th of July's fireworks;
2. Some suggestions for prepare yourself to the fireworks crowd;
3. My first 4th of July's fireworks.