Hudson River to be scene of Macy’s July 4 fireworks 400 years after Henry Hudson’s NY voyage

Hudson River to be site of Macy’s July 4 fireworks

NEW YORK — One of the nation’s largest July Fourth fireworks shows will be held on the Hudson River this year to celebrate the 400th anniversary of English explorer Henry Hudson’s voyage to New York.

The Macy’s extravaganza usually is held on the East River and can be seen from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. The pyrotechnics were last staged on the Hudson in 2000 and were viewed by spectators on Manhattan’s West Side and across the river in New Jersey.

Macy’s says six barges along the West Side will fire 40,000 shells in tune with patriotic songs.

The Hudson is where the fireworks show began in 1958. The show attracts millions of spectators and is televised nationwide.

Henry Hudson sailed the river in 1609 in the Dutch-flagged Half Moon while trying to find a passage to Asia.