Forget Times Square if you haven’t already.
As the clock nears midnight on New Year’s Eve, leave your champagne
flutes behind and head to Prospect Park where fireworks will
be bursting out from the Long Meadow.
Chrysanthemums, peonies and weeping willows will light up the
night sky as part of the annual 20-minute display.
For the agoraphobic with friends in high places – and those wishing
to stay close to their grog – Park Slope rooftops can offer stunning
views.
For everybody else, head to Grand Army Plaza.
Organizers also recommend gathering at entrances to the park
at Garfield Place and Third Street.
For the past 24 years, the park has sponsored the event, which
usually attracts anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 spectators. (The
park took a one-year hiatus in 2001 and offered a laser show
instead when former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani banned fireworks in
New York City following Sept. 11.)
"It’s a perfect way to welcome the New Year, Brooklyn style,"
said Borough President Marty Markowitz, the unofficial cheerleader
of Brooklyn and co-sponsor of the event. This year’s $7,500 tab
is also being picked up, in part, by Keyspan Energy.
Fearless spectators who insist on driving on Dec. 31 are being
asked to park along Flatbush Avenue. And those taking public
transportation can board the 2 or 3 subways to Grand Army Plaza,
the Q to Seventh Avenue, or the B41 or B69 buses.
For more information, call the Prospect Park Alliance at (718)
965-8999 or visit the Web site at www.prospectpark.org.
