vip in the city

FDR fireworks

It was J and J’s first Independence Day on the Upper East Side, and we decided to take full advantage of their new strategic location to view the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks.

We made our climb up the stairs stealthily so as not to draw the attention of the other residents, who would no doubt be competing with us for standing room atop the building.  When we emerged on the roof, we were surprised to find it empty of all but one other couple – no doubt due to the chilly rain, which had just begun to fall shortly before 9PM.

Or maybe because you can’t actually see the fireworks from this vantage point.  D’oh! We made this realization after huddling under our umbrellas for about ten minutes, as the sounds (but not the sights) of the pyrotechnic show began somewhere south and east of us.

Plan B: to the streets, where thousands of other would-be spectators were converging along the East River.  A few blocks north, we joined a small crowd gathered on the cul-de-sac by The Belaire from which we could almost – almost — make out the fireworks being shot off beyond the Queensboro Bridge.

Plan C:  We were going to have to cross that bridge over the FDR.

Which we did, catching the tail-end of the spectacular half-hour show.