It came back with a bang.
Brooklynites reclaimed their front-row seats for the Fourth of July fireworks show last Friday night, lining the waterfront and packing rooftops across the borough for a glimpse of bombs bursting in air over the East River for the first time in five years.
This year’s show included a special centerpiece — the Brooklyn Bridge — but the pyrotechnic barges were moved from between it and the Manhattan Bridge to the harbor-side of the city’s most famous span due to concerns about a rip current, police said.
More than 40,000 elegant explosives were shot off for the occasion, from the barges and the bridge. It was the first time in 19 years that the Brooklyn Bridge has been a part of the show, which Macy’s first staged for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976.
A special musical score created for the 25-minute show celebrated the 200th anniversary of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It included a rendition of the national anthem recorded by Idina Menzel, best known for singing the “Frozen” song “Let It Go,” which was written by a couple of Park Slopers during a flight of fancy in Prospect Park.
The show’s return to the East River was long anticipated. The display decamped for the Hudson River in 2009 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of that distant river’s discovery. Local pols pleaded with the retail giant and the city to bring it back to the borough with the strongest link to the Revolutionary War the following year, but were not heard until now.
