NYC fireworks were scheduled to start at 9:20. They began at 9:28. We went down to our local park. It was free but you had to request tickets, which “sold” out in 10 minutes. (They just want to control the crowd.) We were lucky to get them.
The location was changed again this year. I live in one of the neighborhoods that benefited from the change. The fireworks were spectacular.
There is a wonderful woman who lives in my neighborhood who is a “wild life” expert. She feeds the feral cat population every day and “builds” them "cat motels’ out of styrofoam containers to help protect them from the elements, treats injured Canadian geese and other birds, helps free racoons who get stuck in the steam pipes, etc. On the 4th of July she rounds up all the cats and locks them in a shed to keep them away from the fireworks. Being inside the shed dulls the noise a bit and keeps the cats away from the annual invasion of their territory. She lets them out a few hours after it’s all over–giving time for the crowds to disperse.