Fourth Of July Weekend Kicks Off In New York City
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to crowd the East River shoreline this Monday to experience the annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks celebration.
This year, the New York Police Department will be stepping up their patrols of the highly-anticipated event, with more officers on staff and security checkpoints stationed across the East River access points, 1010 WINS Glenn Schuck reported.
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The show is celebrating its 40th anniversary and Macy's promises this year's event will be the largest display since the millennium show in 2000.
As they do every year, Macy's is adding new technology.
"We use these American-made fireworks to create 'U-S-A,' so we're going to make these almost pixelated firework bursts that occur by launching off fireworks at just the right angle with almost 600 lines of computer code to fire these fireworks precisely," Gary Souza, one of the designers for the show, said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton made an announcement with details on the additional security on Friday.
"Most important message to all my fellow New Yorkers, come out and celebrate on July 4th. The NYPD is ready to keep everyone safe," the mayor said.
Uniformed and plain clothes officers, cameras, radiation detectors, air and sea patrols, as well as some new tools like vapor wake dogs will be on hand.
"We now have 8 of them. Last year we were just starting to acquire them, so that's a very significant enhancement of our capabilities from last year," Bratton said.
The dogs are specifically trained to detect body worn explosives on a moving target.
There will also be 500 plus members of the newly created Critical Response Command -- an elite counter-terrorism squad. It's their first 4th of July since their creation.
"You're going to see many officers with heavy vests, helmets, and long guns," NYPD Chief of Department, James O'Neill said.
As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, there will also be additional probationary officers on hand thanks to Friday's police academy graduation of 1,257.
An aggressive Vision Zero presence has also been planned with many checkpoints for drunk driving, as well as patrols to make sure that people aren't shooting off their own fireworks.
"We're gonna have 95 teams of sergeants and five police officers throughout the city doing fireworks suppression," O'Neill said.
With an estimated 43 million people expected to travel this holiday, many New Yorkers are wondering whether they should stay for the show, or brave potential traffic nightmares by heading out of town.
Some were traveling to the mountains, others to the shore, and others just to go shopping, WCBS 880's John Metaxas reported. A total of 36 million people will drive more than 50 miles this holiday weekend – a record in part because of low gas prices.
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But for other New Yorkers, staying home and enjoying the city sun was all they need.
"I love the beach, but this year I think we're going to stay in," one man said. "'Barbecue, hang out with the family, that sort of thing."
But for others, the three-day holiday is the perfect time to get away.
"It's different, it's relaxing, peaceful and different from the city," another man headed to Long Beach Island for the weekend said. "I'd rather go to the beach."
The event will be broadcast live on 1010 WINS, the official radio station of Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular.
