Today was the longest day of the year and boy, oh boy, did the New York City summer skies celebrate.

Happy summer solstice from Brooklyn!

The first day of summer ended with a spectacular sunset. The kind that slows down traffic on 14th Street and has people standing in the middle of intersections trying to capture the contrast of natural splendor above the concrete jungle. I hauled out the screen from my kitchen window in Brooklyn and climbed out onto my fire escape to get a good look at the sky. 

For 5 years, I had a tradition of gathering with friends to sit and take in the solstice sunset. Tonight left me kicking myself for not keeping up that tradition!

Thanks to social media, can view the First NYC Sunset of Summer from all over the city.

My friend Amy hopped off her train to take in the glorious sight and snap the above photo. That’s right, this sunset was so good, New Yorkers voluntarily delayed their commutes for it!

Caitlyn was stuck in her Midtown office, but that didn’t stop her from taking a moment on the clock to appreciate the first sunset of summer.

Jonno managed to upstage the awesomeness of Trader Joe’s Wineshop (NOT EASY) with his view from 14th Street.

A. Semrick captured the same sky from Gowanus, Brooklyn. Don’t miss the tiny One World Trade peeking out from the bottom right corner!

Alexandria was on the west side of Manhattan, at City Vineyard, looking out over the water to New Jersey. As a native Californian myself, I like my sunsets best watched over water. I’m so glad I can live vicariously through this photo!

Did I mention all these photos are #nofilternecessary?

Thanks to all who sent me photos of this awesome sunset! Click the photo to follow its photographer on Instagram! Did you capture tonight’s amazing solstice sunset? I would love to see it! Tag me in your gorgeous sunset shots on Instagram or Twitter. What a perfect introduction to my favorite season. Let’s go NYC summer!