They’re putting the blue in Red, White, and Blue!
The New York Police Department will be out in force at the largest ever Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks display on the East River this Sunday, according to the authorities.
The Boys in Blue will deploy officers to restrict movement and car traffic along most of the shoreline on both sides of the East River to ensure safety for the celebrations of the United States of America’s 245th birthday.
Five barges with more than 65,000 shells will float down the waterway and the pyrotechnics extravaganza in the sky will start around 9:25 pm and last until 9:50 pm, as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced earlier this month.
At the same time, fireworks will go off of the Empire State Building from the 72nd, 86th, and 103rd floors, and soon afterward, at 10 pm, there will be fireworks in Coney Island.
The return of an in-person event after last year’s pre-taped show during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic is possible thanks to New Yorkers getting their vaccines against the coronavirus, hizzoner previously said.
The show will be livestreamed on NBC, with a two-hour special featuring performances from Coldplay, One Republic, Black Pumas, and more.
To view the fireworks from Manhattan, NYPD will limit access to four entry points to the East River waterfront: Houston Street and along First Avenue at East 23rd Street, East 34th Street, and East 42nd Street.
Backpacks, duffel bags, large bags, coolers, umbrellas, and other similar items won’t be allowed past police lines or in any spectator viewing area.
Cops will also deploy to the four Queensboro, Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn bridges to prevent traffic stopping and pedestrians viewing the fireworks from the spans, according to the Department.
NYPD plans to send out the local precincts in Manhattan and Queens, the Intelligence Division, Counterterrorism, Emergency Service Unit, Strategic Response Group, Harbor Unit, Aviation Unit, Canine, Disorder Control Unit, and the Bomb Squad for the event.
Aviation Unit helicopters will conduct a flyover above the East River around 8 pm.
To accommodate the spectacle, NYPD will close off streets to car traffic in the afternoon and evening along the East River waterfront from the Brooklyn Bridge to East 63rd Sunday afternoon, along with the Brooklyn waterfront near Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights, and the Long Island City waterfront in Queens.
New York’s Finest advise folks to not drive in these areas between 2 pm and 2 am and instead use public transportation to get to these locations.
For a full list of street closures, check NYPD’s advisory here.
