July 4 visitors, the following is my favorite way to view the annual Macy’s fireworks display. Just keep in mind that it only works on alternate years!
The thing about the fireworks is that they change their location every year. 3 barges are floated out, around 100 yards or meters apart, somewhere on the East River. Usually they alternate between off Gramercy Park some years, and off the Financial District (FiDi) in others.
They were off FiDi in 2019. I took a folding cane with a seat, an umbrella, a beach towel and snacks, and a charger. I went to the Brooklyn Promenade in the afternoon to secure a good spot.
Here’s what you do.
Walk using the cane until well past the police checkpoint.
Drape the towel over the fence. That gives your lower body shade.
Open the cane and sit.
Open the umbrella to shade your upper body.
Enjoy the commanding view. You’re 100 feet above the river, almost as high as the midsection of the Brooklyn Bridge. Brooklyn Bridge Park is straight below. You can see all of eastern Manhattan from north of the Empire State Building all the way down through FiDi, over the entire harbor and Miss Liberty to the port of Bayonne, New Jersey, and much of Staten Island!
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