Macy’s ended its five nights of pop-up fireworks displays with a brief but beautiful bombardment of explosives over the Empire State Building.
The rally began at 9:38 p.m. with colorful fireworks fired from the Art Deco landmark observatory, sending sparks and smoke drifting over Midtown and drawing the crowd.
“I am very happy that they did that. What a good idea to shoot them from the building like that, ”said Geela Roland, 54, a Pilates instructor who was among more than 150 people lined up along 34th Street between 5th and Madison Avenues to see the show. of surprise lights.
Macy’s had not advertised the fireworks locations in advance to prevent crowds from gathering in violation of social distancing rules.
“It looked like some of them were being shot through the windows,” added Roland.
“That was very nice. That was a good thing for morale. We needed that. “
The first explosions lasted less than a minute, and the fireworks resumed again for three minutes around 9:51 pm
“It’s a different exhibition this year, that’s for sure,” said Lucien Vanoverberghe, a warehouse worker, as he looked at the red, white and blue illuminated skyscraper.
Vanoverberghe had traveled to Manhattan from Patterson, New Jersey, with his wife and three children, hoping to see the screen.
“A lot of the fireworks in Jersey are canceled this year,” he added. “But we wanted the children to see this. We wanted to show our support. “
However, some noted that it was difficult to find pleasure in the diminished spectacle, as the nation continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemics and racial justice protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd.
“We cannot celebrate July 4th as we used to. This is the safest way. But he doesn’t seem so enthusiastic, “said Jake Forrester, 28, a nurse who still wears her medical uniforms after a 12-hour shift at a city hospital.
Forrester, who appreciated the fireworks display, described his July 4 sentiments as “bitter.”
“It is a little difficult to be proud of where we are as a country at the moment,” he added.
“We could not contain COVID[-19]. We are failing in healthcare. We’re backing down … I’m a little bit bitter. “
The show completely failed with an Ohio couple, Brian Tuck, 27, and Heather Moss, 27, from Akron.
“I mean, it’s great that it happened at the Empire State Building. But that’s it, ”said Tuck.
“Given all the rubbish going on in the country, you think they could have used some bigger fireworks.”
Moss added: “I have seen bigger fireworks in my backyard.”
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