July 4th was strange this year for all sorts of reasons, including that Upper West Siders have been hearing and seeing fireworks for weeks in advance of the celebration. In fact, one thing that stood out was that the Macy’s fireworks paled in comparison to the illegal fireworks exploding all over the city all day and night.
Two photos by Michael McDowell from West 81st Street showed how quickly the city sky turned hazy as hundreds of explosions filled the air. A fog appears to hang over the city in the second photo, taken just an hour after the first. “You could smell a slight sulphur in the air, and it sounded like Kuwait.” He called the official fireworks over the Empire State Building “a total dud.”
Other emblems of Independence Day were familiar. A fire hydrant at 74th Street and Riverside Drive was painted in patriotic colors. We can only hope no dogs saluted it. Thanks to Erika Piik for the photo.
Jodie Gould snapped a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt in a patriotic mask.
US Thunderbirds performed a patriotic flyover, witnessed by Jordan Cooper.
And bicyclists held the latest protest ride down Columbus Avenue, organized by a group called Street Riders NYC. This one was called “Independence Not” and included thousands of riders, many wearing red. Video by Joe Colombo.
I’m so happy someone posted a picture of theEleanor Roosevelt statue. It must be removed. Her ancestors owned slave and she had been know to make anti-Jewish statements.
Bomb the pyramids in Egypt!!!!
This erasing of history is limited to USA. Please focus on destroying all statues in this country. The Communists of America thank you for your enthusiasm.
Here’s an idea that’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser: Let’s pull down every statue ever erected because no-one can be trusted not to have been a person of their time in some way or never to have said/done something reprehensible. As we who are now alive clearly have it all figured out and have perfect moral compasses, we can safely re-start history. Best to wipe out the past— it’s just annoying and embarrassing. Good idea?
yes! show me one perfect person who has never said the wrong thing and/or had a negative thought – that person doesn’t exist. while some statues glorify an historical figure with a blatant record of racism or racist acts, there are other figures whose contributions to society far outweighed a random thought or word. Rather than just tear down every statue, let schools teach young people the fullness of each historical figure’s record so they understand for themselves.
EXACTLY !
If we, as adults, do NOT encourage young people to THINK about polarizing issues (by presenting them with arguments both PRO and CON) we are doing them a terrible disservice.
Educators call these “Teachable Moments” for the opportunity to have CIVIL discussion-and-debate.
Myself, and my former colleagues, fondly recall the vibrancy of classroom debates…so much so that our NYC high school pupils were actually sorry to see the session end!
AND, to those who want Ms. Roosevelt’s statue removed, first type “Eleanor Roosevelt’s accomplishments” into your search engine.
You’ll soon understand why she was so revered.
UWS RB – Spot on…the hypocrisy and audacity of the left is astounding. If someone they liked had some flaws or were “people of their time”, it’s okay (Eleanor Roosevelt), but if the individual wasn’t (Teddy Roosevelt), them let’s erase them from history.
lol keep making bad faith arguments, you me and all the other commenters know that people are asking to remove the servile nature of the native american and african american flanking TR in his statue at the AMNH, not TR himself. it glorifies a time where even great men like president roosevelt participated in the subjugation of a servant class of nonwhite americans, and does not need to be there to appreciate roosevelt and his accomplishements.
hell, the museum itself could be called ‘the museum of cool stuff that teddy roosevelt shot’; its a living legacy to his explorations.
You know we know you’re just engaging in bad-faith BS, right? Just because you can’t yourself conceive of ever sincerely caring about other people doesn’t mean everyone’s like you.
Eleanor Roosevelt saved Jews from the Nazis. I don’t care what she said. The vast majority of Americans then made terrible statements about Jews. Leave her alone. We all know how Nixon talked about Jews, but he saved Israel from destruction during it’s darkest hour, the Yom Kippur war. Talk is one thing, action (or deliberate inaction, like FDR), is quite another.
She wasn’t a saint. But I think she came around on the Jews? https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/eleanor-roosevelt-and-the-jews/
The hypocrisy some commenters exhibit puts a smile on my face every morning.