Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular @ the Brooklyn Bridge

I found my secret spot and I’m not telling anyone. I’m beginning to become a pro at this so I bought a mat in advance and waited out the hours until the magic. There was the standard fireworks display, except that nowhere else in the world, you’ll have the Statue of Liberty to your left, the Freedom Tower in front of you, and the Empire State Building and Brooklyn Bridge to your right. Crowd control felt seamless and everyone was in a great mood.

Mass of confusion.
Being the first year of its return to the Eastside, I expected it to be bad… just not this bad. Just when I found the perfect spot on the Westside, it gets moved to the East River. *sigh*
~Westside — You can bring a chair; Eastside — NO chairs, NO umbrellas.
~Westside — Multiple All-​Access points of entry; Eastside — Numerous VIP/​Paid restricted areas and a single access point to the FDR about a mile further down than was advertised
~Westside — They had the system down pat; Eastside — It was everyone’s first day of life.
Since I brought my super nice travel chair, I gave up trying to get on the elevated portion of the FDR. So I settled for trying to find a spot further up river where the 1^st barge was located. Well, thanks to the rip currents in the East River, they moved that barge south to the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. So all those people gathered on the north side were shit-​out-​of-​luck. I ended up in a NYCHA parking lot with an obstructed view of the Brooklyn Bridge. I took the saddest fireworks pictures ever, as you can see. The whole experience was a total waste of time.
What I will do next year (if there is a next year) is do what I planned on doing in the first place. I’m going to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Early.