Who Is Handing Out High GRade Fireworks In NYC?

[Me.]

THe ones the other night at 1 am sounded like cannons.

“Firework complaints across New York City rose by 236 times this month compared to the same time period last year, as New Yorkers question where the explosives — some of them seemingly high-grade — are coming from and who's behind the endless evenings of pyrotechnic displays…

From June 1st to June 19th, there have been 6,385 total 311 complaints about fireworks—up from just 27 during the same time period last year. The complaints have been rising throughout June, most notably in the past week. Juneteenth saw the highest number of complaints—a day of celebrations but also protests against police brutality, concluding with fireworks overnight…

Observers have noticed it's not just more complaints this summer, but some incidents feature high-quality displays not typically operated by casual fireworks consumers…

On social media, some speculated that the fireworks were an organized effort by the government or police themselves to destabilize the movement against police violence and defunding the police department, for which there has been a wave of protests nationwide after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.”

https://gothamist.com/news/firework-complaints-increase-230x-june-officials-seek-supplier-crackdown

[SledDriver]

1. Cops always have the best fireworks for some reason

Just sayin’

[Me.]

2. Honestly That's What My Neighbors Are Saying

Very high grade stuff being shot off. But if it is, they may be shooting themselves in the foot as there are now so many complaints there will have to be an investigation.

[Renew Deal]

26. Does anyone really care?

Sure, people complain, but nothing is going to happen unless someone or something is badly injured.

[Me.]

67. Well...

There was a parade of cars in front of Gracie Mansion late last night blaring their horns and with signs saying if we can't sleep. you can't sleep. The Mayor held a presser today and has promised action. THe complaints are now over 13,000.

[Renew Deal]

68. lol

That's pretty good.

[3Hotdogs]

3. All's ya gotta do, drive across N.j. to Pennsylvania.

1/4 mile into Pa., are fireworks shops. You can buy whatever you can afford and drive it back to N.Y.C. where you can thrill your neighbors at 3 A.M.

[Me.]

4. WE Know That

But people are saying this is Macy's grade stuff

[NameAlreadyTaken]

7. But you can't buy the professional grade fireworks there

In the fireworks stores you can only buy Consumer Fireworks (1.4G explosives class). They are highly regulated and there are strict limits on their size and construction specs. The professional grade (1.3G display fireworks) are much bigger and a federal permit is required to buy them and an ATFE licensed magazine is required to store them. Of course there may be an unscrupulous dealer who has some of that stuff and is willing to sell them "under the table" to buyers, but is also taking a huge risk of losing their business and spending years in federal prison if caught doing that.

[Amishman]

10. Yup, either a distributor selling out the back door or ordering direct from China

My bet would be gray market suppliers shipping direct from China. Happens plenty with prescription drugs, pesticides, and other controlled products. One guy buys a pallet of them and sells them to friends

[NameAlreadyTaken]

12. I've heard of the black market for the big fireworks

Since I run a legal fireworks stand myself, I get calls and questions all the time for the big stuff and illegal stuff. I've heard it's out there, but that's all an underground market, the prices are high and it's all very elusive. I've never actually seen it though.

[Blue_true]

46. What is the biggest firework that you can sell.

Is the M80 the biggest? Stands sell them her in Florida, a noted football player blew off most of a hand with a big firework.

[backscatter712]

48. Real M80s are illegal by federal law.

There's a federal cap on the amount of gunpowder that can go into consumer grade fireworks, and an M80 is waaaay over that. In my neighborhood, the usual thing to do was to go over the border to Wyoming to get the good fireworks, but those are still subject to the federal cap - the fireworks stands will sell "M60s" or "M100s", but those are under the federal cap, and are nothing when compared to M80s.

Here in Colorado, you can still get the fun fireworks, but if you're caught with them, the cops are getting super-strict - a thousand-dollar fine, an actual misdemeanor on your record, and possible jail time. They're real hardasses.

My brother-in-law used to get real M80s from the US Forest Service to scare off deer, though they don't do that anymore. And yes, they're a hell of a lot more powerful than the firecrackers that can legally be sold to consumers.

I always set M80s down to light them - never lit and threw. Because I didn't want a nickname like Stumpy or Lefty.

[Blue_true]

49. I saw M80s as a child, a handful.

I avoided people that used fireworks. The only thing our parents would allow us near were sparklers placed on the ground, the little round things that popped when we threw that at a hard surface, and very small firecrackers. But once information got back to my parents that a kid tried to chew one of the little round things (they came in different colors like candy), that was the end of fireworks for us.

[Lars39]

53. An M80 is equivalent to a quarter stick

of dynamite.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

56. Actually,

a quarter stick of dynamite has approximately 60 times the power of an M-80. A true M-80, built to the original military spec, has 45 grains (just under 3 grams) of flash powder in it. Dynamite has a different chemical composition, which is more powerful, and a quarter stick contains about 30 times as much, by weight, as an M-80.

[backscatter712]

63. An original-spec M-80 is powerful enough.

They're powerful enough to blow a hand into mincemeat - they're pretty dangerous.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

54. M80s have been illegal in the entire United States since 1966

The Child Protection Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Johnson in 1966, made M-80s and "cherry bombs" illegal throughout the U.S. There is of course a black market for them, and that may be what is being sold in Florida. But the act of selling a single M-80 is considered a felony and carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.

[Demovictory9]

58. Mexico also

[backscatter712]

47. For those willing to take their lives into their own hands...

One can always go to a gun shop (if not in NYC, then in locales like Pennsylvania where the laws are looser), get big jugs of gunpowder, and make your own devices, if you're willing to risk felony charges and ending up with a nickname like Stumpy or Lefty.

Hell, you can still get Tannerite in a lot of places - farmers still have to blow up stumps somehow.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

55. Tannerite is a legal product

[SWBTATTReg]

5. Bored kids...we have the same issue in STLMO...fireworks seemed to have started earlier this year...

then usual, probably due to being out of school and stuck at home. It is a pain, especially when it's scaring the pets and startling one when trying to sleep.

[Me.]

6. We're Talking Nearly 7000 Calls

and those are the ones who called. We didn't.

[hunter]

8. It's bad this year here, worse than usual.

This weekend someone was setting off full size fireworks in a nearby schoolyard past midnight, the kind that rattle windows and set off car alarms.

Our dogs hate fireworks. Last night we had to take them outside to pee. They wouldn't go out on their own.

[Me.]

36. It Is Bad

and I guess you have to be there to get it. Not so bad by me, though a couple of nights got us up looking to see if there was anything on the news. But I have a friend in Queens who says it's non stop. And usually firewaul complaint calls each year number from 200-300.

[Polybius]

9. I think more people are just complaining for some reason

The fireworks complaints are all over my local Facebook Groups.

[Me.]

11. Do You Live In NYC?

[Polybius]

37. Yes I do, Staten Island

I really don't think I'm hearing more this year, but the complaint level is way up.

[Me.]

38. AS I Said Below

Usually from 200-300 but now up to over six thousand.

[Polybius]

39. Maybe SI is different

Here we hear it every year from mid-June on.

[Me.]

40. Could Be

[edhopper]

13. I am in Queens

it's like being in Kabul at night.

[Me.]

14. Exactly

WE haven't had it so bad where we are but several of our friends say it's been going on all night

[NYC Liberal]

15. Same here, in Brooklyn.

They're all over and going off constantly. I've rarely heard them before a few weeks ago.

[sir pball]

32. Every night up here in the Heights

Starts before dark, and sometimes goes till sunrise. Every night. Definitelyy has never been like this before.

[Me.]

52. I Habe A Friend In Port Washingtom Who Says The same

[SoCalNative]

16. Idiots have b een shooting off fireworks

in my city in So Cal since mid-March. Every night. Getting much worse now the closer it gets to 4th of July. I hope they all blow themselves up or lose major appendages setting them off.

[chowder66]

34. I hate the noise but I'm even more worried about fires around here.

[PTWB]

17. Why would shooting fireworks "destabilize the movement against police violence?"

That doesn’t make sense to me.

It’s just fireworks.

[Me.]

19. Because It's Causing Mayhem

It's the kind of makes you jump out of bed noise

And to be clear we have a lot of fireworks around here...all the holidays including New Year's Eve, the Philharmonic playing and many other events. This goes beyond.

[PTWB]

28. I guess I don't see why fireworks would cause mayhem, even louder than normal ones.

And even then, why it would have any effect whatsoever on the protests and demonstrations.

[sarisataka]

20. Trying to wrap my head around that

Will a couple thousand marchers stop to ooh and ahh at some big fireworks then go home because they forgot why they were marching?

[Me.]

21. They Are Not Marching In The Early Hours Of The MOrning

THey're trying to sleep like the rest of us.

[sarisataka]

23. It seems there are less

Fireworks locally so far this year. There have been a few louder bangs of large ones, but the smaller crackers are not heard so much.

With one or two exceptions however everything has stopped at a respectful time

[sarisataka]

24. So is the plan

To disrupt protests by causing a lack of sleep? Or does the government expect the fireworks to cause PTSD and protestors will stay home?

My money is on run of the mill assholes rather than some secret conspiracy.

[Steelrolled]

35. "That doesn't make sense to me."

I think most people would agree. But keep in mind the claim came from "social media" which is like "I heard from some guy at a bar".

Of course that didn't stop the "gothamist" from "reporting" that hot tip.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

18. Color me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but I'm betting it's a right-wing....

childish, macho-man thing floating around social media to show off their little candy arse in order to piss off liberals and perhaps as a way to signal their support of Trump in our area. They know we love peace and quiet.

Due to the coronavirus, our police are not enforcing disturbing the peace calls, so they have nothing to worry about in that regard.

In my low-to-medium income neighborhood, I believe there's a high percentage of red neck MAGATs. Lately, there's been a lot of fireworks being shot off at night and many are big boomers.

Sort of like a MAGAT status symbol, I'm thinking...... .........

[sarisataka]

22. I am a liberal and I like fireworks

I plan to get about 3x as many this year since the big show in out area is canceled.

We are prohibited from using rockets and other high shooting item. Such fireworks are available in Wisconsin, only 10 minutes away however I can do an entertaining show using ground items.

[LisaM]

27. I hate when people set them off in neighborhoods.

For a number of years we lived in a rental house that didn't even have a hose. A couple of years when it was really dry, I was absolutely terrorized by neighbors who set them off in the street, worries about fire. My dogs hated the noise.

It's unfair to others to set off (mostly) illegal fireworks in neighborhoods. With so many Fourth celebrations being cancelled this year, I am really dreading the day.

[PTWB]

30. Why didn't you buy a hose?

If I was that concerned I would certainly buy a hose.

I for one love fireworks but make sure they're done responsibly. I've lived in neighborhoods where a few dozen neighbors will gather in the middle of the cul-de-sac and launch fireworks together all night long. Right now I live in the city but there are still many people who go out into the street on holidays to shoot fireworks and it is an amazing sight to see.

[LisaM]

41. There wasn't a hook up for one.

Later, we moved and they had to get things up to code, but it was a cheap rental that we could afford.

Don't you worry about the neighborhood pets at all?

[PTWB]

43. What about the pets?

[LisaM]

44. The ones that are traumatized.by fireworks.

Especially ones that go all night long

[PTWB]

45. My dogs have never really minded fireworks

They just bark when they hear them... but they bark at everything. They bark when the UPS truck pulls and when it pulls away. They bark at the mailman. They bark at walkers and joggers and bicyclists. I keep them indoors because I don’t want to bother anyone. About the only time they don’t bark is when I’m walking them in the morning and in the evening.

[sarisataka]

31. There is a park within walking distance

That has a large open field partially surrounded by a hill where anyone who wants to watch can sit.

It also has a dirt/gravel area where there used to be a baseball field. It provides a safe spot to light the fireworks. We also bring a couple fire extinguishers and buckets of water just in case.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

29. So do I as a show to go somewhere and enjoy during a holiday, but.....

the OP was regarding observed rapid increase in everyday citizens shooting off fireworks at night in neighborhoods when we're not very near a holiday.

Like loud motorcycles and car/truck exhausts, it reaches a point where it is indeed disturbing the peace.

KY

[sarisataka]

33. So far, locally

It seems there are fewer fireworks this year. That may change as the 4th approaches.

Usually people will stop by 10, except on the 4th itself.

[Renew Deal]

25. NY famously has had fireworks funneled through Chinatown

It's also easy to buy them out of state. It's probably just a matter of greater availability. Don't know where they're coming from.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

42. SSHHHH! trump thinks the generals are attacking NYC as ordered.

Naturally, they're not traitors so they just put on a show.

[Me.]

51. +!

[GulfCoast66]

50. Funny, in my central Florida neighborhood I've heard none.

And hell, we can buy the mortar kind here in Florida. I’ll admit I have set them off myself with the neighbors. But only on the 4th. And never too late.

They really don’t bother, but I can see how in densely packed areas like NY they could be problematic.

Or in California with the fire danger.

[Demovictory9]

57. they are going off in southern Calif. I assume the fireworks are from Mexico

[Raine]

59. They are all over the whole country, I'm in the Los Angeles area and they

are continuous they start even before dark and continue all night. These are not small ones but like big professional ones. People all over LA are trying to figure where they're coming from and begging them to please stop, it's scaring everyone's pets so much.

[Me.]

62. +1

[electric_blue68]

60. Here in the Bronx...

(besides me being up waaay too late...)

This the first time in several weeks - that it has diminished back down to the normal occasional pop, crackle, small "boom"s (like between a pop and a boom), etc. I thought at one point it was going turn hyper again - but it didn't!
Like a drop of 90%+ =O !! Especially since last night I think was the worst.
Didn't even start till just before 10pm. Again must strees - it's been Very Intermittent! (phew!)

I've lived in this neighborhood for almost 11 yrs and in NYC all my life.

The difference tonight is startling!

[Me.]

61. +1

[Me.]

65. Help Is Coming

THe complaints are now over 13,000 and the mayor is finally responding. Maybe it has something to do with a parade of cars that went to Gracie late last night and blared their car horns. THey had sign that said if we can't sleep you can't sleep.

[electric_blue68]

69. just an update

when you mentioned the car honking demo by Gracie Mansion... (Mon?)
What I heard Tues news was he was ordering people to stop the people bringing them in, and the big illegal distributors. He was not going after the neighborhood people setting them off.

So when I mentioned it had suddenly quieted down by 90% on Mon it couldn't have been bc of the Mayor's.

Anyway it's Wed, and for which ever reason(s) - last night and tonight have remained at the reduced; that is, the normal amount for getting close to Fourth of July.
Yay!

[Me.]

70. Good News

I disagree with not going after the neighborhood people. He should go after everyone involved. But am glad it's quieting down.

[George II]

64. Aren't most fireworks illegal in NYC?

[Me.]

66. Supposedly

Especially with these. We're not talking sparklers here