The Fourth of July in New York City means fireworks. They're big, they're bright and they're exceedingly hard to pull off.
One company knows a lot about the Herculean effort that makes these holiday spectaculars happen. Phil Grucci and his Long Island-based company, Fireworks by Grucci, have been lighting up the sky for six generations.
On July 4, they’re running shows in Montauk, Yonkers and Atlantic City — as well as in several other cities throughout the nation. They’ve got plenty of other shows planned throughout the month as well.
Grucci, the company’s CEO and creative director, joined WNYC’s Michael Hill on Morning Edition to talk about what goes into making those impressive displays happen. The transcript of their conversation below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Michael Hill: Happy Independence Day! Tell us about the preparation that goes into getting ready for the Fourth of July weekend.
Phil Grucci: So, it's very logistics- and operations-driven, obviously. All the design of the shows is completed. And then the logistics of moving 400 pyrotechnicians from places such as New York to Hawaii, down to Florida. All the transportation of the explosives and the fireworks to different locations. We are now in 67 cities to celebrate Independence Day, and it's driven by a lot of hard work.
You know, it's seasonal, so it's that peak that comes on quickly. Fortunately, we're past COVID. So, you know, a lot of our customers, they knew they wanted to have their Independence Day displays. So they booked it with us early. So it's a good time. We're here; we're ready to go.
So Phil, you mentioned 67 cities. Does that mean 67 shows?
That's correct – they have at least three to four pyrotechnicians on them each. Some of them have as many as 20 to 30 pyrotechnicians on them.
That's a lot. And today, of course, is the big show, as we said. What time do you even have to start today?
Well, the installation of many of our performances happened actually two to three days ago. The amount of equipment that has to get set up – the computer systems, the testing that we have to do. We have some time in the contingency in case the weather is bad. We’re not only on for one day. We don't just show up, set up and display. We’re there multiple days. It’s a progressive install.
Would you walk us through everything that needs to happen to make today a success? Suppose there's even rain in the forecast for the time that the fireworks were supposed to start.
Believe it or not, the rain doesn't really cause as much trouble. The rain is more of an inconvenience for the audience. We could fire in the rain; the product is protected. We have certain protocols that protect the equipment from the rain and the computer systems.
It's more wind! If we have a high wind, that will affect the actual display – whether we can display it or not. But the preparations for today start early in the morning at every one of the sites. The pyrotechnicians should be loaded already by now. And then as the day draws later, then [we focus on the] security element of the boundaries and where the fences are, and making sure that the people aren't getting themselves set up in a nice place that's inside the fallout area.
So we're watching all of that as the day goes on. By the time the sun starts to set, we're ready to go. The barges are in place, or the security areas locked down on a land location. And then we're watching the clock tick away very slowly, because we’re eager to push that first button
But there's a lot of checks that we're working with the customer. If it's a program that we are choreographing to music that goes on in a radio station – there’s rehearsals in that connection, make sure connectivity is alright. So there's many details before that first button is pushed.
But then when that happens, we're up on stage and you get the butterflies just because you're watching the timecode click away, and it's counting down to that first launching of the first effect. You get those pre-stage, pre-show jitters. And then once the show is over – that grand finale ends — and you hear the roar of the crowd, it makes it all worth it. You know, those long nights and long days — it makes it all worth it.
And we turn around, and we have a very busy next weekend too. Next weekend, we have 22, 23 shows that will go out.
Phil, I'm curious, what do you say to someone if they've seen one or two or three or four of your shows? Have they seen it all?
No, I don't think they've seen it at all. Our challenge is to make each one of them different. So every one of them is custom. And it's our challenge and also our love to make sure that each one of those programs has its personal touch and it's different than the others. We don't have an A show and a B show and a D that goes out. So we hope it's not just just like any other program.
And Phil, this is your family's business, right? When did it start and how has it evolved over the six generations?
It started back in 1850 with my second great-grandfather in Bari, Italy. And he and his son, which would be my second great uncle, came through Ellis Island in the early 1900s – 1910 –
through Ellis Island and set flag out on Long Island, which is where we are currently today. They set a manufacturing plant up on Long Island that my grandfather ended up apprenticing under his uncle. Then my grandfather got to the age that he opened his own factory – just four miles down the road from the original factory in Bellport, which is where we live.
And then in 1982, formally, I became part of the business. I was old enough. I was 18 years old. I say “formally” because, you know, back then, I think we were part of the business before we were born. When you were in the womb, you heard the vibrations because Mom was at every one of those shows. You got the fever at that point.
And seven years ago, I ended up acquiring the ownership of the company for my aunt, my uncle, and now I have my son and my nephew as part of the business — representing the sixth generation. And we have actually the seventh generation coming up with us. So my grandson – 1 year old now – he’s here with us. He's getting used to the booms and the bright flashes and he loves it. So he's the next one coming up as well.
