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Will Last Summer's Firework Boom Return To NYC?
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jun 10, 2021
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jun 10, 2021
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It was around this time last year that New Yorkers first noticed what would soon become the thundering soundtrack to the city's first COVID summer. Illegal fireworks, seemingly ubiquitous and inexhaustible, soared from rooftops and streets across the five boroughs. Complaints spiked by a factor of 80. Promised crackdowns proved futile. Armchair detectives and supply chain experts traded theories, none of them particularly satisfying.
Now, as New York City sprints toward hot-vax summer, the return of the nightly rockets remains an open question. Are we on the cusp of a great pyrotechnic renaissance? Or is firework mania, like sourdough starters and outdoor masks, destined to be remembered as a curious relic of the pandemic's first year?
So far, reports and data paint a conflicting picture. While nowhere near their 2020 peak, the number of illegal firework complaints filed with 311 has jumped since early May, far outpacing the same period last year.
In the first week of this month, there were more than 1,800 complaints, led by zip codes that cover Washington Heights, Crown Heights, Bed Stuy, and Flatbush.
But anecdotally, many New Yorkers say it's been a less intense spring for fireworks. With major outdoor events cancelled last summer, many believe that the unused supply of professional fireworks flooded the city streets — a scenario that won’t happen this year.
One senior law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Gothamist that there had been a marked decrease in illegal firework transportation, but cautioned that "it could spike before the [July 4th] holiday."
"We've been doing a lot of surveillance and we're not seeing the same volume as we did last year," the source said.
That conclusion was backed up by Pete Matra, the owner of Brooklyn Fireworks in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. At this time last year, he said, his parking lot was overrun with cars bearing New York and New Jersey license plates. This year, sales are back to their 2019 levels.
"It was the most amazing thing we've ever seen," Matra said of 2020. "The demand exceeded supply ten times. Inventory couldn't keep up...It was beautiful, but now you can see it's getting back to normal. People aren't panic buying.”
Nonetheless, the city is on the lookout for illegal firework activity. On Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a Fireworks Task Force — a joint effort between the Sheriff's Office, the NYPD, and the FDNY — aimed at cracking down on interstate firework transportation.
The goal, according to Sheriff Joe Fucito, is to “tackle this problem and be proactive to prevent what we saw last year, which was obviously a disturbing rise in the use of fireworks.”
New Yorkers hoping to score illegal fireworks may soon have other problems. According to Matra, surging shipping prices from China have left him and other suppliers running low on fireworks this year. The same container of explosives that once cost $13,000 now runs close to $27,000. Inevitably, some of that increase will be passed on to the consumer.
But while last year’s rush on fireworks made for a “fulfilling and financially great summer,” Matra said he was grateful that demand seemed to have slowed this year, at least relatively.
“Last year the world was ending,” he said. “I'm enjoying the way that it is right now without the craziness.”
Tagged
fireworks
Illegal fireworks
nyc
brooklyn
311 complaints
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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