July 1, 2014 Christian Murray
More than 16,000 people attended the fireworks display at Astoria Park last night, according to the organizers of the event.
Marie Torniali, the executive director of the Central Astoria Local Development Corp., the non-profit group that puts on the annual event, said that attendance at the Astoria Park annual Independence Day celebration was the largest to date– and it just keeps growing and growing every year.
“We are better than Macy’s because we are a great community and we hold it in a much more intimate setting,” Torniali said. She said the event now draws many people from outside the neighborhood. The event also features a performance by the Queens Symphony Orchestra.
The evening went off without a hitch and it was an “amazing show,” Torniali said.
The event cost about $65,000 to put on, with funding provided by the city council and several large sponsors.
“We are grateful to our sponsors and our local councilman since we couldn’t do it with out them,” Torniali said.
