The Macy’s fireworks will be on the Hudson River again this year, despite local officials and businesses clamoring for the show to return to the East River.
Macy’s spokesman Orlando Veras told Metro today that the fireworks will be on the Hudson River this summer, with barges between 18th and 48th streets.
The company has not yet decided about future years, but Veras said they take into consideration the scale of the planned show and viewing locations.
“Macy’s fireworks will continue to take place in and around all of New York City’s waterways, and will not be a permanent fixture in any one location,” Veras said.
State Sen. Daniel Squadron hosted a rally today at Brooklyn Bridge Park urging the fireworks to be brought back to the East River.
The fireworks were moved to the Hudson River in 2009, and have yet to return east. Brooklyn and East Side residents have argued for a return of their front-row view of the festivities.
Squadron said the fireworks move limits the number of New Yorkers who can watch the show and sends visitors to the New Jersey side to spend money, instead of staying in the five boroughs to watch the display from Dumbo or Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Squadron and other local elected officials sent a letter today to Macy’s president Terry Lundgren, officially requesting a move to the East River.
“New York’s Fourth of July fireworks should be a citywide celebration,” Squadron said. “Instead, the millions of New Yorkers who live in Brooklyn, Queens and the East Side of Manhattan are kept out of the party.”
Added Alexandria Sica, executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District, “It’s a shame to let the Hudson have all the fun.”
