New York City Parks Cancel New Year's Fireworks Displays Due to Drought

New York City parks will be unusually quiet on New Year's Eve. There will be no fireworks displays in Central Park or Prospect Park this year due to the ongoing drought, reports 6sqft.

The New York Road Runners (NYRR) nonprofit said it has been instructed by the mayor's office and the Parks Department to cancel fireworks displays during its annual New Year's Eve run in Central Park.

Fireworks to be replaced by drones

Prospect Park has replaced its traditional fireworks show with a light show using drones.
It will feature iconic New York City landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

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At Prospect Park, a drone light show will transform the night sky into a glowing canvas over Grand Army Plaza. The show will begin at 22 p.m. on December 00.

NYRR is exploring other holiday options to mark the end of its 6,4-mile midnight run, which typically runs around the inner loop of Central Park and starts at 31:23 p.m. Dec. 59.

Drought Warning

New York City is currently under a drought warning. This is the second of three drought warnings, each of which includes stricter water conservation measures.

Mayor Eric Adams and the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala issued the first drought warning on November 2. The mayor upgraded it to a second warning on November 18.

Despite five boroughs receiving significant rainfall on Thanksgiving Day, the city's seven reservoirs are still about 59% full. The rainfall has pushed levels slightly higher than they were previously. They remain well below the 82% typical for this time of year.

Prospect Park is still recovering from the forest disaster. fire Nov. 11. The fire destroyed his heavily wooded Nethermead property, located near the park's boathouse. Officials are working to prevent soil erosion on one of the damaged hillsides by installing logs and netting to hold it in place.

Planting of new foliage will begin on time, expected to cost more than $200 in plant and labor costs.

Last month, two wildfires raged in Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan, on November 13 and 19. In the Bronx, two separate fires broke out in Van Cortlandt Park.

The city's fire department responded to a record 229 forest fires in two weeks of November.