This holiday weekend I
decided to actually try and be on-scene for real fireworks in the city. Last year I enjoyed them with family in Wilkes-Barre, PA's new Riverwalk, but inasmuch as this year's overall plans were not settled until the last minute, I decided to enjoy my new hometown's rendition.
After some work on Headline Prophet, I got in to gear about 2 PM.
On my way to beat the crowds and get comfortabe (at exactly the same time as the crowd no doubt).
It seems that almost the entire West Side running along the Hudson is
devoted to the event. I only knew, loosely, that I wanted to get near the piers and that doing so would take pretty much the whole afternoon
if not the whole day. I had an idea that this would be a lot like my
attempts to be in Times Square for New Years which, in both cases, I
aborted because it’s just so damn cold and crowded, and I never get
there early enough.
I got off the subway in Bryant Park and walked the entire length westward on 42nd Street until ultimately reaching a comfortable viewing point just South of the Intrepid. I was part of a super flow of people that would be rivaled hours later going the other direction.
Crowds taking up position with chairs blankets and their own water from home (smart move).
Parched.
The show begins.
Me looking rather jolly about the whole thing.
Show aftermath. Crowd streams back up 42nd Street, taking over street for many blocks.
Waiting for the 7 Train home, exhausted!
Thankfully the crowd, even at its peak, allowed for enough room for a single guy to stand comfortably. The biggest problem I had was the heat and lack of water vendors inside the parametered viewing area (which should not be confused with the problem of my lack of foresight
to actually bring my own water). One of the restaurants was selling food and drinks just a block outside the parameter. Initially I walked past it to get in but once in place and standing for 10 minutes I realized I really needed to stock up on the aqua. When I tried to get back and buy some, police were warning anyone, including anyone who just wanted to buy from the vendor standing just feet from them, they wouldn't be allowed back in. It became a choice between drying up or re-situating somewhere up or down New York 9A, which would have been tantamount to leaving all together by that point. Luckily, the restaurant had situated its triage against the parameter. Standing at the end of the adjoining business's wheelchair ramp, one could reach over the railing and transact. With hundreds of people in the same predicament as I, a line quickly formed on this ramp as the police fenced up with metal barriers.
The show was pretty good, though, I probably spent more time than I should have trying to take and Tweet the few pictures I took rather than simply enjoying the show! :P
