4th Of July Fireworks Return To Brooklyn Bridge Area This Year

The fireworks in 2014.

The Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks display returned to the East River in 2014, after many New Yorkers complained for many years about their location on the Hudson. Since then, the location has shifted, with barges centered around the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges that first year, and eventually moving along the river towards Midtown. This year, however, they return to the Brooklyn Bridge area. Tens of thousands of pyrotechnic shells and colorful effects will decorate the sky from their launching points set up along the lower East River. There will be four barges, according to a press release.

This annual fireworks show, now in its 43rd year, usually begins around 9:20 p.m. and lasts for 25 minutes, though people wait all day long in prime spots. Macy's estimates that millions of spectators will gather on Thursday July 4th to immerse themselves in the event, the bulk of which will likely congregate at Pier 17 in the Seaport District and Brooklyn Bridge Park, as well as the Promenade.

The last time Macy’s fireworks extravaganza took place at the Brooklyn Bridge location was in 2014. In 2017, the show was expected to return to the Bridge area, but Macy’s relocated the display days before the holiday due to the size and scale of the pyrotechnics and limited public viewing areas.

The return of the fireworks to the Brooklyn Bridge is a win for firewonks (a term for fireworks fans I just made up) in Battery Park, Dumbo, and Brooklyn Heights, which will likely have the best view. (York Street F stop gonna be lit!) According to the company’s press release: “This year’s presentation will add three times more pyrotechnic firepower as Macy’s creative team expands the design to include more dazzling and intricate effects firing from locations spanning the entire bridge.” Past shows have incorporated neon pinwheels and swirling water fountains.

Macy’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show is the largest in the U.S. and has been lighting up New York City’s waterways since 1976. The electric display of color, light, and sound will be launched from over one dozen points along the 1,595-foot stretch of the Brooklyn Bridge. This year’s musical performers will be announced in June (and as usual, everything will be broadcasted via NBC, with 1010 WINS airing the musical score that serves as the show’s soundtrack).