New York City will distribute 8,000 tickets for the July 4 fireworks show on Thursday after overwhelming demand crashed the website for the unusual ticket giveaway and interrupted the city’s original plan.
Within five minutes of Wednesday’s scheduled release, more than 1 million people tried to log on to www.nycjuly4.com to claim 10,000 available spots. The site crashed with only 2,000 tickets spoken for, according to Brad Weekes, a City Hall spokesperson.
The city will now release the remaining tickets on Thursday at 10 a.m. The site, which is run by a third party, has addressed the technical issues that resulted in the crash, Weekes said.
Mayor Eric Adams announced plans on Tuesday to offer the public 10,000 free tickets for standing room at Piers 45 and 84 in Hudson River Park, prime viewing for a world-famous event that is moving back to the West Side of Manhattan for the first time in roughly a decade.
The city is trying a new approach with the giveaway. The annual fireworks show is free to the public and will have multiple viewing locations along the West Side Highway.
But this year, the mayor’s office came up with the idea to reserve a prime viewing area controlled by Hudson River Park Trust, Weekes said.
“Anyone who does not get a ticket can still view the fireworks display along miles of space along the Hudson that will be open to the general public,” Weekes said.
The NYPD was criticized in previous years for reserving VIP viewing spots for officers and their families.
Members of the public are limited to two tickets per person.
The mayor, fresh off a visit to the Hamptons last weekend, touted the giveaway on Tuesday during a press conference at City Hall.
“Summer in New York is probably one of the best places to be in the country,” he said.
