Chris Dimatteo brought his children to Jones Beach on Saturday for the Jones Beach fireworks, arriving later in the day as the beach filled ahead of a show scheduled for about 9:30 p.m. He said, "It’s exciting to see, and you don’t get to see it in person like this, the way it’s gonna be tonight."
Chris Dimatteo at Jones Beach
Dimatteo, of Queens Village, said his family came out for the holiday gathering at the beach and boardwalk. He said, "We all came over here one time or another, and we’ve all come together as one big unit to create the United States."
He added, "I think it’s a beautiful thing." The scene matched the broader Fourth of July weekend crowds moving toward waterfront viewing areas across Long Island as evening approached.
Jacqueline Kagiwada at Jones Beach
Jacqueline Kagiwada set up shop at Jones Beach on Saturday for the Fourth of July, her first time doing so there this year. As the crowd built, she said, "It’s amazing … it’s getting packed full of people" and added, "We have the fireworks tonight, music’s going. It’s a great family environment."
Her comments came as the beach prepared for the scheduled start time. The gathering drew families to the shoreline before dark, with the boardwalk adding to the concentration of people near the sand.
Weather shifted other displays
Incoming weather was forcing other fireworks displays in the region to move earlier the same evening. Macy's 4th of July fireworks were moved up to 9:02 p.m., and Riverhead Town moved its show at South Jamesport Beach up to 9 p.m. because of the weather.
Radar showed a line of thunderstorms heading toward the area later in the evening, and the area was under a severe thunderstorm watch. That left Jones Beach as one of the holiday crowds watching for whether the fireworks there would begin on the planned schedule of about 9:30 p.m.
