Roosevelt Island July 4 Fireworks Viewing Celebration Online Registration For 1500 Tickets At FDR Four Freedoms Park Sold Out In Minutes Today, Same As Ever - Did You Get Tickets?

As reported July 2021:

Many Roosevelt Island residents are outraged over the way the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) handled last Wednesday's online ticket registration for viewing the July 4 Macy's Fireworks Celebration at FDR Four Freedoms Park.... 

Every year as July 4 gets closer, like clockwork, Roosevelt Island residents look forward to viewing the Macy's East River Fireworks celebration at FDR Four Freedoms Park. Residents try to register for the limited number of tickets available through the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) online system only to find out the free tickets are no longer available within minutes (sometimes seconds) as happened again today.

1500 tickets were available this year for viewing the July 4 Fireworks at FDR Four Freedoms Park. According to RIOC:

Registration for the Roosevelt Island Fourth of July Family Fireworks Celebration will be opening, Wednesday, June 29th, at 12 PM for residents. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to register for advanced tickets. If any tickets remain, they will be released to the public on Friday, July 1st 12 PM ...

A few minutes after 12 PM today, I started receiving emails like this:

We logged on at 12:00 for tickets today. Gone. Do you think they sold out to residents in two minutes?

and:

I was online at 12 and after giving all the info clicking 4 tickets the sight said that I couldn’t get them with my code.  It’s amazing how they can’t get anything right.    

 A Roosevelt Island Mom of 2 shares this message she sent to RIOC:

Dear RIOC Board and staff,

This was a terrible experience. We logged in one minute before 12 and tried constantly to get even one ticket for our family of four. It just kept saying no tickets available even when refreshing the page, clearing history, trying different browsers, etc. And at some point it said that even the code would not be valid. We think we did everything right and are now left with zero tickets for our family for the “family celebration”. We extra delayed our summer travel because our children wanted to see the fireworks. Many families have the same frustrating experience, as just shared on the Roosevelt Island Parents’ Network. Very sad. 

Please if you can release more tickets to Roosevelt Island families and residents. Thank you.

Some residents were able to get tickets.  According to this comment from Roosevelt Islander Facebook Page:

 Heh. In all fairness -- since last year I was one of the people complaining about how I couldn't get a ticket despite trying at the exact time, I'll just say -- this year I *was* able to get tickets off eventbrite. I honestly assumed it was better for everyone... but looks like I just lucked out. Hope they expand it next year. 

Another Facebook Page comment:

I have been trying since noon and nothing. I was prompted to get on the waitlist. I am also in a group chat with 16 other residents all trying to get tickets and none of them were able to get tickets either.

if you ask me, it is a total PR stunt to make it look like they tried to give residents access to their own community

And: 

I have been checking and checking since 11:59 to 12:05, it’s unavailable all the time

 And:

Tried since noon then after 10 minutes it said unavailable then it said sold out, this isn’t the first year this has happened

 Here are more comments from Roosevelt Islander Instagram Page.

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I asked RIOC today: 

Any comment from RIOC on today's July 4 online Ticket Registration process.

I'm receiving many reports from angry residents who logged on at 12 PM and were not able to get tickets.

For example:

We logged on at 12:00 for tickets today. Gone. Do you think they sold out to residents in two minutes?

and:

Year after year it’s a debacle

Any comments from RIOC?

No reply from RIOC.