In the weeks leading up to the holiday, Gary Souza and around 60 fellow pyrotechnicans are focused entirely on finalizing the 49th annual Macy’s show. But they are not strolling along the Brooklyn Bridge where it will take place, nor are they balancing aboard one of the four barges in the East River that will supply additional launch points.

The fireworks will be launched from four barges between Pier 17 and the Downtown Manhattan Heliport on the lower East River in the Seaport District.

The Macy’s celebration, replete with 80,000 firework shells and 11 new pyrotechnic effects, returns to the East River after heading over to the Hudson in 2024.