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It’s Wednesday. We’re off tomorrow for the Fourth of July.

Weather: A slight chance of rain in the morning, but otherwise sunny with a high in the upper 80s. Tomorrow, look forward to clear skies for your July 4 picnic and fireworks show.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until tomorrow, the Fourth of July.

America turns 243 years old tomorrow.

And for 43 of those years, Macy’s has been hosting a fireworks display that city officials say is “the largest in the nation.”

[The crazy planning for the Macy’s fireworks show begins in the California desert.]

But getting a good view of the pyrotechnics requires some preparation.

The show

The fireworks should start about 9:20 p.m.

In absentia: A televised show, with musical acts, runs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on NBC. You can listen to the fireworks and musical acts on the radio station 1010 Wins.

In person: Fireworks will be launched from four barges in the East River, roughly between Broad Street and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Some locations have better viewing than others

There are “prime viewing locations” on elevated portions of Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and the Lower Promenade, according to Macy’s website. Here are seven recommended entry points to those areas:

For elevated sections of F.D.R. Drive:

“Almost directly in front of the barges”: Broad and Water Streets

“Breathtaking views”: Pearl and Dover Streets

“Near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge”: Robert F. Wagner Sr. and St. James Places

“In the heart of what’s happening”: Pearl Street and St. James Place

“Northernmost access point”: Montgomery and Cherry Streets

For the Lower Promenade:

“North of the Brooklyn Bridge”: Pike Slip and Cherry Street

“Wheelchair-accessible” and near playgrounds: Market and Cherry Streets

Macy’s also has a list of places “not suggested for viewing,” which include: Battery Park, Battery Park City and Roosevelt Island.

Brooklyn Bridge Park is welcoming people. Eric Landau, the park’s president, said he expected the area would “fill up really fast.”

And the police reminded people on Facebook that the display would not be visible from Queensbridge and Rainey Parks in Queens.

Are there accommodations for people with disabilities?

Yes. Macy’s website suggests Murry Bergtraum High School, near the Manhattan Bridge. Call the Macy’s hotline for information: 212-494-4495.

Priced out?

At Manhattan’s South Street Seaport, Piers 16 and 17 are closed to the public, but open to whoever can afford a $492 ticket to a party at the Fulton restaurant, Gothamist reported.

What about other shows?

You can head to Coney Island, Brooklyn, for the Steeplechase Spectacular Fireworks show, which starts about 9:50 p.m.

You can watch the fireworks that are part of Jersey City’s daylong festivities.

Fireworks are also planned for 9:20 p.m. in Jersey City. Before that, the singer Akon will perform at 7 p.m., and the rapper Pitbull at 8 p.m.

A reminder: Fireworks are illegal in New York City

Macy’s can set them off. You can’t.

The police say possessing or igniting fireworks can lead to an arrest, the confiscation of your car or the closing of your business. (And yes, sparklers are considered fireworks.)

But I want to see fireworks after the Fourth!

There are fireworks every Friday night through Aug. 30 on Coney Island (pending weather conditions).

From The Times

Dr. Albert Sutton spent just one night on his private island. He has had enough.

A New Jersey judge said a teenager accused of sexual assault deserved leniency because he’s from a “good family.”

A notorious debt collector in the taxi industry was charged with pretending to be a law enforcement official.

We fact-checked President Trump’s claims of harassment by New York State. Here’s what we found.

A defense lawyer for the estranged husband of a missing Connecticut woman offers an unusual theory.

[Want more news from New York and around the region? Check out our full coverage.]

The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

The first part of Shirley Chisholm State Park opened yesterday in Brooklyn. [Curbed]

City quality-assurance specialists test everything from fire trucks to toilet paper. [Wall Street Journal]

A Vietnam veteran received a new home, for free, on Staten Island. [Staten Island Advance]

The rapper, Bronx native and etymological entrepreneur Cardi B. was denied a trademark on her oft-used phrase “okurrr.” [The Guardian]

Coming up today

Children stretch and move to songs and rhymes with Sacred Sounds Yoga at Washington Square Park in Manhattan. 10 a.m. [Free]

School is out and nature is calling. Listen to birds and search for bugs on an insect exploration hike at the Blue Heron Nature Center on Staten Island. 11 a.m. [Free]

Bring your ideas to a writers’ workshop and showcase to receive guidance and inspiration. The PRISM Collaborative hosts at Meta Den in Brooklyn. 5 p.m. [$15]

Dance for freedom at Free Britney, a Britney Spears party, at C’mon Everybody in Brooklyn. 9 p.m. [Free]

— Vivian Ewing

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times’s culture pages.

And finally: A food tour of Queens

If you want to shove 70 hot dogs in your face in 10 minutes, go to Coney Island.

If you want to taste food from around the world, head to Queens.

“There are dozens, if not hundreds” of restaurants and eateries “unceremoniously serving unadulterated national cuisine to working-class compatriots,” wrote Seth Kugel, a contributor to The Times and the author of “Rediscovering Travel: A Guide for the Globally Curious.”

Here is a quick overview.

Meat (sorry, vegetarians)

“You’d need a week to explore the Thai offerings found largely in Elmhurst,” Mr. Kugel wrote. One place he visited was Moo Thai Food, “which serves only pork.” Down the block at Lammon, dishes include “spicy sausage made with pig ear, lemongrass, lime leaves and cilantro.”

Seafood

At Myung San in Flushing, a crab dish is known as a “rice thief” because soaking its rice in the marinade in the crab shell yields results that are hard to stop eating.

Drinks and desserts

“You could go Egyptian or Brazilian or more Colombian in Astoria,” he wrote. At Ukus, “an extraordinarily casual Bosnian restaurant,” the self-serve beverages include Cockta soda, “a citrusy, less cloying version of Dr Pepper, and thick Croatian pear juice.”

Metropolitan Diary: Well meaning

Dear Diary:

I was in Midtown. I saw a young couple staring at passing cabs, looking at each other and shrugging.

I assumed that they were new to New York, didn’t speak English and had no idea how to hail a taxi. I stepped in front of them and flagged one down.

Holding the door open, I waved them inside and then slammed the door shut. As the cab edged out into traffic, the couple stared at me through the back window. They looked even more puzzled.

I had the embarrassing thought that maybe they weren’t looking for a taxi after all.

— John Bohannon

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