Laurence Tamaccio lives near the West Side Highway, the part that exposes its aged, rusty underbelly and concrete legs, held high above Riverside Park South. In his view, it’s an eyesore—and he wants to cover it with vines and waterfalls.

“Seeing it on a daily basis, it started to sort of wear me down aesthetically,” he said.

Tamaccio, an architect who describes his job as “making things that look awful look better,” posted slides of his High Line-esque vision on YouTube. Trellises and ivy cover the highway’s pillars from 61st Street to 72nd street in the digital image of Tamaccio’s dream.

Tamaccio, who lives on Riverside Boulevard, has launched a petition to achieve community support, though it hasn’t circulated widely yet.

Community Board 7 passed a resolution to support “continued exploration,” but Tamaccio says, “The community is not as aware as it needs to be.”

Community Board 7 Chair Mark Diller said it’s safe to say that no one finds the highway attractive. He added, “I have not heard other proposals to beautify the highway.” He has heard, though, efforts to keep the highway elevated for people who use the park beneath it.

Heather Lipton of 140 Riverside Blvd. said, “Vines would be gorgeous,” though she hadn’t considered the highway to be an issue before.

“After a while you kind of get used to it,” said Leslie Pilcher, 31, of West 63rd Street.

Tamaccio doesn’t believe painting the highway would be enough.

John Hart, an artist who has lived nearby for over 20 years, disagrees. “A light blue would be better,” he said, to “blend it in with the sky.” The vines on the structure, he said, “would draw more attention to it.”

Jerry Julian, 45, who has lived in the area for several months, said he agrees with Tamaccio that the structure needs to be reworked. “I would love to do what Boston did with the Big Dig and put it underground,” he said.

There have been efforts to rebuild the highway underground. It was originally elevated from 72nd Street to Chambers Street but a downtown section collapsed in 1973, leading to a project called “Westway,” which died after years of controversy. Then there was a plan for the Trump (later Extell) developers to rebuild the park and bury the highway but necessary federal transportation funds have yet to be acquired.

“People are under the impression that ultimately it’s going to be underground,” Tamaccio said. There is space for a tunnel, but after Hurricane Sandy sent Hudson River water onto the park, Tamaccio thinks it’s less likely the tunnel will ever be built.

There are skeletal ramps from the old highway, protruding from the new one above the park south of 72nd Street. Tamaccio sees these shelf-like pieces as potential waterfall areas.

He says the skeletal strips of old highway have preferable structure, upheld by arches. The elevated track for the 7 train in Queens also has a pleasing pattern of arches, he says, but most of the highway over Riverside Park South seems like a “patch-up” job.

His plan has grown to include gray water catching systems to make use of drainage pipes and a year-round café to assist with funding—though after Sandy, the café should be elevated, he said.
Drawing from how the High Line came about, Tamaccio says the next stage is to form a nonprofit organization. He’s talking to experts, officials and collaborators.

“It’s my community and it affects thousands of other people,” he said, adding, “It’s part of the Manhattan greenway.”

I’ve never been one for backyard fireworks.

I remember all those Independence Days as a kid where my friends would whip out some sparklers, a lighter, and a twinkle in their eye, only for us to act out that scene from Hot Rod and stare at a flickering dud until we lost interest (Language rules restrict me from linking to it on YouTube, where I searched “Hot Rod fireworks” and clicked the third one down). But it didn’t take many major disappointments for me to realize the iridescent box of colors in which the sparklers were contained was an empty promise. I quickly gave up the practice.

“Oh, you bought $400 of Roman Candles? Good idea.”

Macy's Fireworks 2010 - photo by Barry Yanowitz

I guess I was spoiled as a kid, though. Instead of wasting our money on some overpriced birthday candles, my family decided to invest in the Disney Vacation Club– a timeshare, similarly overpriced, that pretty much locks up your vacation destination for the next four decades. Since I was five months old, I’ve not gone on a family vacation outside of Orlando. I used to be like this, now I feel like Charlie bit me. Not until I rebelled and went to college all the way in Tampa did I explore other parts of Florida.

(Now we have a house in Celebration, FL, about 30 seconds from Disney World, and I’ve fallen back into that funky Floridian pattern. Help.)

The reason I have no interest in those sparklers, though, is because Disney does do one thing right, and that thing is fireworks. Music synchronization, laser shows and spherical TV screens fashioned to look like a globe accompany the wonderfully choreographed fireworks, and I make sure to catch at least one show every time I go. Heck, I was just there two weeks ago, staring up at the sky with twinkles in my eyes (literally) and getting my ears blasted by incessant explosions.

Perhaps the only fireworks show that I’ve seen that rivals Disney’s expertise, though, is Macy’s Ignite the Night Independence Day fireworks. And fortunately for us, they’re in two days.

Assuming you aren’t blind –not really sure what you’re doing here if you are– the only flaw to a great fireworks show is an obstructed view. So, fortunately for you, fair reader, I have compiled a list of optimum viewing areas (anywhere with a clear view of the Hudson) for this year’s 36th annual Ignite the Night in hopes of sparing you from a strictly-audible fireworks show on Wednesday, which is not nearly as fun.

The barges that set off the fireworks float along the Hudson, between 18th and43rd St, and this means that any of the following spots are a good spots:

-        The West Side Highway, of course – anywhere on the water along the highway is probably the best place to be. There will be plenty of fellow viewers, and everyone will be watching together

-        Riverside Park – host of Hudson Warehouse’s wonderful Shakespearean plays, the park has plenty of great seats and views of the skies. Some of the walls get pretty high off the ground, though, so I wouldn’t recommend making them impromptu seating

-       Hoboken- Except for some really cool, shape-specific versions, fireworks are, for the most part, enjoyable from all angles, so Hoboken is just as good a spot as any

-        Pier 84

-        You can purchase access to the U.S.S. Intrepid for an Independence Day party and a perfect spot to see the show

-        A friend’s place. Obviously the best, least hectic, and most comfortable. If you don’t have one in the neighborhood, it might be worth making one, even if only to use them for their view.

Bad spots:

According to the Macy’s website, East River Park, Battery Park, Battery Park City, and all piers except 84 are not viewing spots for the fireworks show, so, of course, avoid those.

I recommend checking out the official website, as Macy’s provides a ton of information regarding the event. They’ve even gone as far as creating a Macy’s Fireworks App, which purports to make your viewing as seamless as possible.

I’m thinking I’ll be at Riverside Park.

–Nick Gallinelli