Author: Sela ([email protected])
Date: 05/19/2002, 08:44 pm
Message: I will be in NYC on July 4. I have been trying to find specific informations regarding the fireworks display. Where is a good place to stand and how soon do you start lining up to see them? What time do they start. What other celebrations will happen that day? Thanks!

Although I live in NY, I rarely go see the fireworks. You can see them on the East Side Highway, north and south of 42nd Street. The highway closes down and people arrive as early as noon (or earlier) I think.

Also, you can take the train to Roosevelt Island and pay for seating.

Last year was a big dud - from the FDR side, all you saw was smoke.

Check out www.nytoday.com or the papers just before the fourth.

Last year, because of weather conditions that day, there was a lot of smoke that hung in the air obscuring the view of the fireworks. (I forget why...humidity?)

Hopefully, there'll be clear conditions this year, though you never know.

Good view from Sutton Place South, between 51st & 55th Street. You can show up right when the fireworks begin, no lining up.

A few years ago I went out on a boat in the East River to watch the fireworks -- tons of fun. It didn't cost much and the boat left from the South Street Seaport. It might have been a Grey Line? I can't remember but it sure was a great time.

There are shows on the East and west side. I go every year. The West Side Highway closes down and a good vantage point is in the 40's. You can get there a couple of hours early and should be fine. Bring a lounge chair or cushion, snacks and drinks and wait for the show which is fantastic. Pick up a copy of a local magazine or paper.. TimeOut or New York Magazine that week. They always list the best places from where to view the festivities. Enjoy!!

Dave, I haven't seen a show in the Hudson in several years--isn't it only in the east river?