City Reminds Us Fireworks Are For Professionals

With July 4th just days away, Mayor Bloomberg, Fire Commissioner Scopetta and Police Commissioner Kelly are reminding residents that fireworks are completely and totally illegal. Some interesting stats from the city's press release:

- 1,100 cases of illegal fireworks have been confiscated by the NYPD
- Nearly 50 people have been arrested for possessing or trafficking illegal fireworks
- 29 vehicles have been seized
- A seventh-month old boy suffered burns on his face from an illegal pyrotechnic in Brooklyn.
- Last month a structural fire on Staten Island was started by a child playing with fireworks in his bedroom.

Mayor Bloomberg said, "In the hands of a trained professional, fireworks can produce some of the most thrilling shows you'll ever see. But in the hands of an amateur, they are very dangerous and illegal," and urges New Yorkers to call 311 to report illegal fireworks.

The NY Times has an article about how both NY and NJ are trying to prevent people from bringing illegal fireworks (usually bought in Pennsylvania) back to their homes. The comic relief in the article is two NJ teens who tried to enter a Pennsylvanian fireworks emporium while smoking. They ended up buying two bags of stuff, including "an ominous-looking tube wrapped in red."

Photograph from a 2003 press conference about illegal fireworks - that poster board collage is pretty nifty!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on July 2, 2007 4:18 PM

Comments [rss]

guest

The reason is simple "robingee" . Those "Other" States are employing a simple , & practical approach here . You play with fire there is a chance U'll get burned . If the above happens, It's Ur fault and you don't have the right to sue the local Government, OR the person you purchased the Fireworks from ! You decided to use the product and payed the price . It's about being a responsible adult . That's why in most states they allow you to own, & carry a gun . Posted by; "Still Not Amused"

robingee

Wy are fireworks legal in some states and not others? Seems weird.

guest

I am a "Professional" ! I used Fireworks since I was a kid and never burned my hands Or any other part of my body . It's sort of a "Catch-22", If you employ common-sense to what Ur doing then You in turn minimize Ur chances of error . Example: "M-[80]'s,[100]'s etc . I found that the fuses are saturated with a solution that makes them burn faster . Solution: Pull the fuse(Gently)out (Not completely) lengthening the fuse . Then use a paper towel to wipe some of the solution off, thus slowing the burn time .

guest

In the hands of stupid people everything is dangerous. I used to play with fireworks when i was a kid and I didn't hurt myself nor somebody else.

guest

Seriously, this is sucking ridiculous. I can't read the guest comments without getting three inches from my screen.

guest

I don't care what these idiots do, as long as they don't interfere with me and mine. Pass a law - people hurt by their fireworks can't receive taxpayer-financed benefits, and they have to reimburse any expenses (police, fire, ambulance) they cause. And if a kid gets hurt, that parent can lose custody.

Ah, remember the good 'ole days, when the idiots would set off rockets on 1st Ave, AS CARS DROVE AROUND THEM.

Signed - H215

guest

Someone should also post pictures of the little kid that drowned in a pool last week.

Outter Burrougher

Those posters do make fireworks look extremely enticing. Perhaps they'd do better with pictures of people who have been injured by illegal fireworks.

Someone "joked" the other day about Mayor Mike perhaps going to Pennsylvania with a campaign against their selling of fireworks to New Yorkers. I actually think that's a pretty decent idea considering that for fireworks sales to be legal in Pennsylvania they have to be to people who are NOT residents of Pennsylvania.

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, root@localhost and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat) Server at 10.17.18.180 Port 80