[Outside Elsewhere Espresso on East 6th Street via Derek Berg]
As you probably know, the July 4 (that's today!) fireworks return to the East River ... first time since somebody moved them to the Hudson River in 2009.
Anyway! Here's a roundup of some of the Where-to-watch-the-fireworks roundups:
You will apparently no longer have to rekindle that friendship every July with those people you really don't like who live on the west side and have a rooftop view of the Hudson ...
According to The Observer, Mayor de Blasio is expected today to announce that the July 4 fireworks will return to the East River where God wanted them to be.
In his former job as public advocate, Mr. de Blasio, a Brooklynite who campaigned as a champion of the outer boroughs, called on Macy’s, the event’s sponsor, to move the show back from the Hudson River so it could be seen by residents in Queens and Brooklyn. The display was moved to the Hudson, between Manhattan and New Jersey, in 2009.
Last night around 11:45, there was some talk on Twitter for a moment about what sounded like gunshots... before people realized the noise was probably made by fireworks...
Indeed, a reader happened to catch a brief fireworks display at 11:45 coming from the roof of the Christodora House on Avenue B...
EVG reader Augie notes the damage on Suffolk between Houston and Stanton ... after someone set off fireworks (explosives?) on the hood of this Range Land Rover Defender...
EV Grieve reader Scott Dwyer notes that last night around 11, residents of a building on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B set off a pretty impressive fireworks display. Best of all — no Nick Lachey as host.
Updated:
EV Grieve reader Gregory Patrick sent along this photo from last night... looking north from East Third Street ... perhaps from the same display?
Last night, we were on a rooftop in the neighborhood enjoying a nice, quiet evening. Then, about 9:30, we heard a series of loud "bangs." My first thought was the ConEd plant on 14th Street had finally blown. But we still had power. The ruckus seemed to be coming from somewhere over the East River, I'd say in the 30s. From what I could gather, someone was setting off explosive pyrotechnic devices, which can be very dangerous. Anyway, the noise continued for nearly 30 minutes, all the while a great variety of sparkling shapes, often variously colored, could be seen through the cloudy skies. We called the police several times, but couldn't get through. Regardless, my guess is that someone was filming a big Hollywood movie. (These people have no consideration for the rest of us who have to live here.) There are many rumored sequels in the works that may be filmed here, such as Cloverfield 2: We Still Can't Afford a Tripod or I Am Legend 2: Still the Legend Despite that Hand Grenade at the End of the First One. Must have been that.
Anyway, I'll continue to investigate this. Here is 30 seconds of the action.