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Dozens Arrested In NYC For Illegal Fireworks, Guns, Alligator Carcasses
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 25, 2020
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 25, 2020
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The city's attempt to stop the proliferation of nightly illegal fireworks continued this week with more arrests for people allegedly attempting to sell fireworks from out of state. The NYC Sheriff’s Office said that 10 people on Staten Island have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of "unlawfully dealing with dangerous fireworks & unlawfully transporting three alligator carcasses (We are not making that up)." You can see a photo of that above, though the alligator carcasses were omitted from the display.
In the Bronx, another 12 people were arrested for possessing the trove of fireworks you can see in the photo below, along with two assault rifles and a handgun. (These arrests followed others on Tuesday and last week.) We've asked the NYPD for details about that arrest and will update when we hear back.
On Tuesday night, a toddler sustained burn injuries after a firework blasted through the window of a Bronx apartment. Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed sympathy for the family during his press conference on Thursday morning, and talked about the strategies local law enforcement is taking to curtail the fireworks.
"I'm really sorry for that family, and I hope the young child is going to be okay," he said. "The most important thing is to go to the root cause, we've got to cut off the supply. It turns out it's happening all over the country. It's become a very troubling phenomenon that people are setting off these fireworks, and there are real safety issues."
Fireworks-related complaints to 311 and 911 have topped 20,000 this year, an unprecedented increase over previous years. As a result, de Blasio launched a task force earlier this week with a team of NYPD, FDNY, and Sheriff's Bureau officials to "disrupt supply chains," resulting in thousands of dollars in fireworks confiscated already.
But it hasn't yet stopped the spate of random fireworks displays going off in the middle of the night. Laura Lannes was sitting by the window of her apartment in Ridgewood, Queens around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday night when she heard fireworks suddenly going off: "I thought it was a very strange scene, the fireworks going off in the middle of the empty street, and that man alone," she told Gothamist. She captured it in the video below.
It's also made her wonder whether there's more to the situation than just out-of-town fireworks coming into NYC: "It was just a very odd situation. Fireworks are usually a social activity. This man walked into the middle of the street alone, set off those fireworks, then drove away," she added. "Having witnessed this, I don’t think it’s just teens having fun. Unless this is an asshole trying to make sure his ex doesn’t get good sleep or something."
De Blasio was asked about the proliferation of videos like the one above, and why the police weren't quicker to respond to such incidents. He noted that law enforcement are dealing with a lot of other issues simultaneously, including the increase in shootings in recent weeks, which he said is a priority. "The videos don't tell you the whole story, as per usual in life," he said. "The NYPD and FDNY are always going to make decisions based on safety."
He was also asked about people going to neighboring states, such as New Jersey, and stocking up on legal fireworks at places like Target, and what could be done about that. "Let's be clear: whatever way they're getting them, they're reselling them for profit, and a lot of time selling them to kids, and a lot of time setting up situations that are not safe, before you even get to the quality of life problem that people don't want to hear fireworks going off into the night," de Blasio said. "The laws in NYC are clear and strict about the things we have to do to protect people's safety."
He also said all the arrests this week were proof that his fireworks unit is already working: "The fact that now the Fire Marshall's, the Sheriff's Office, NYPD, NYPD Intelligence Division are immediately finding so many people to go and target and stop and apprehend shows you that there's a pattern we're now locking onto to get at the supply and things being done illegally."
Tagged
Illegal fireworks
fireworks
mayor bill de blasio
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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