Remembering the Bicentennial while witnessing the Semiquincentennial
David Italiaander, a Merrick native who now lives in New Jersey, said he attended the country's 200th Independence Day celebration when he was 26. He watched the parade from a friend’s apartment on the 26th floor of a building right near the water.
"They were on the 26th floor. We had a little party and had an incredible view of everything," he said. "We were living in the city, so it was just another party — a pretty good party.
He told Newsday he had to make the trek to Manhattan to see the show again this time around.
"The last time it was almost this big ... and it was a fantastic show," he said. "This one should be better. So, even though it's like 100 [degrees] or whatever it is, I had to come out and see it."
Italiaander had originally planned to watch the 250th anniversary parade from bleachers on Governors Island. He and his wife had tickets, but that event was called off because of storm damage.
He opted to watch from The Battery instead, but his wife did not join him because she was worried about the heat.
"She thinks I should be too, and I probably should, but ... I want to see the flyover," Italiaander said as he wiped sweat off his head. "By 10, 10:30, I think I should be indoors again — hopefully without heat exhaustion."
Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
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