Independence Day, you\u2019re a firework. <\/p>\n
Thousands of spectators gathered across the Big Apple were awed at the patriotic pyrotechnic miracle of the 49th Annual Macy\u2019s 4th of July fireworks show \u2014 a spectacle that unleashed a flood of emotions Friday night.<\/p>\n
The celebration, which kicked off at 9:25 p.m., featured 80,000 shells launched in the night sky from four barges on the East River \u2014 including a ghost shell that rocketed 1,000 feet in the air \u2014 and an unprecedented art show projected on the majestic Brooklyn Bridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Macy\u2019s, every year for what you do. I\u2019m crying. Yes. I\u2019m crying. This is New York City. This doesn\u2019t happen this way, anywhere else,\u201d Brooklynite Maribel Abreu, 54, told The Post as she wiped tears from her eyes at South Street Seaport\u2019s Pier 17. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s (nothing) more beautiful than the Brooklyn Bridge in the world, and the bridge was on fire today.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 49th Annual Macy\u2019s 4th of July fireworks show illuminates the Big Apple sky Friday night. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Sherrie Hughes, 40, an Army veteran who fought in Afghanistan and was visiting from California, summed up the fraternal spirit shared among onlookers from around the city \u2014 and the world \u2014 created by the breathtaking show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no other place like New York City to celebrate the spirit of America,\u201d Hughes, a former New Yorker, said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis seemed purposeful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many spectators said the Brooklyn Bridge was the star of Friday\u2019s Fourth of July fireworks show. REUTERS<\/p>\n
The fireworks extravaganza was a much-needed distraction from the \u201cclimate we\u2019re in right now. We all need to unite as a people, and all come together, and all celebrate together,\u201d added Hughes, whose favorite part was the explosions that looked like a waterfall cascading from the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River below. <\/p>\n
And she wasn\u2019t the only one deeply stirred by that stunning display. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe waterfall was insane. It\u2019s probably one of the best fireworks that\u2019s ever happened in New York. It is probably, like, the best event ever. \u2026 Incredible show. Just incredible,\u201d Abreu\u2019s 16-year-old son, Maxwell Lizardi, gushed. <\/p>\n
The awesome display of 80,000 firework shells wasn\u2019t enough to wake this tot sleeping on his dad\u2019s shoulder. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Many spectators were so moved by the fireworks display that they told someone close that they loved them. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Sol Pereya traveled from Cordoba, Argentina, with her parents and brother specifically to see this year\u2019s fireworks. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew that this was very special and very unique, so we tried to do everything to schedule everything to be here today,\u201d the 27-year-old said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Her family was so touched that they huddled together in the middle of the show and told each other how much they loved each other.<\/p>\n
Residents from around the city took in the stunning fireworks show Friday night. Getty Images<\/p>\n
For the first time, visual art was projected onto the Brooklyn Bridge\u2019s towers as part of the Macy\u2019s 4th of July fireworks show. AP<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that we will treasure this moment for the rest of our lives, honestly,\u201d an emotional Pereya said. \u201cThe Brooklyn Bridge, it\u2019s the most beautiful thing I\u2019ve ever seen. We\u2019re still trying to figure out the words to describe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many longtime New Yorkers who were among the throng of onlookers come to see the show noted that they don\u2019t remember fireworks ever being shot off the Brooklyn Bridge before Friday night\u2019s display.<\/p>\n
Arbeu and Lizardi watched with astonishment as an American flag projected on one of the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge unfurled in a scroll before it was replaced by an American eagle that soared over an open road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Independence Day, you\u2019re a firework. Thousands of spectators gathered across the Big Apple were awed at the patriotic…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":40182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,29877,29876,5864,10202,28133,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-40181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-brooklyn-bridge","10":"tag-east-river","11":"tag-fireworks","12":"tag-fourth-of-july","13":"tag-macys-fourth-of-july-fireworks-show","14":"tag-metro","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkcity","19":"tag-ny","20":"tag-nyc","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-us-news","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}