Thousands of People Celebrate Independence Day in New York

On Sunday, New Yorkers celebrated the Fourth of July with a comeback of traditional festive activities conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"The Fourth of July celebration will be unprecedented once again, but this time for all the right reasons. Its size, spender, and hopefully, its crowds," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Household retail brand Macy's staged its traditional fireworks display from five barges positioned on the East River. Touted as the largest Independence Day celebration, the 45th annual fireworks show had more than 65,000 shells launched on Sunday evening.

The 111th Travis 4th of July Parade was held on Staten Island of New York City around Sunday noon. The organizers of the parade asked participants to wear masks and practice social distancing while the parade in 2020 was modified to a smaller size amid the pandemic.

The celebrations also featured patriotic classical music with the guest performance by the United States Army Field Band & Soldiers' Chorus. This year, however, organizers designated multiple viewing areas in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens..

LaGuardia Airport presented a Water Feature show featuring laser projection, lighting, and patriotic music. Local authorities stepped up precautionary security measures and required spectators of the firework display to go through metal detectors over concern about domestic terrorism and violence.

While Nathan's hot dog contest was taking place in Coney Island, the Empire State Plaza in Albany was lit up with fireworks Sunday night. In both cases, unlike what happened last year, the authorities allowed the presence of live assistants.

Most health restrictions in New York State were lifted in mid-June as 70 percent of adults in this state have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines.