Signs pointing to a quieter Fourth of July this year, area police say

H. Rose Schneider, Observer-Dispatch
·3 min read

While summer 2020 saw enough fireworks complaints in Utica the city's Common Council added a specific entry to the city code section on prohibited noises, Utica police Sgt. Michael Curley said this year there have been fewer reports of illegal, aerial fireworks (not the “sparkling devices” you can legally purchase at your local big box store) as Fourth of July draws near.

“Obviously during COVID was a very high time [for reports of illegal fireworks], with nothing else to do,” he said, referring to the closure of most businesses and canceled events during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Fireworks explode over Bleecker Street in Utica.
Fireworks explode over Bleecker Street in Utica.

Rome police Lt. Sharon Rood also said there’s been little concern with illegal fireworks compared to previous years, though she said there have been more noise complaints since sparkling devices became legal in Oneida County.

“We’ve had a couple complaints,” she said. “But it’s nothing alarming.”

New York only allows the sale of fireworks known as sparkling devices, which do not launch into the air. These are currently legal in all New York counties except for Albany, Bronx, Columbia, Kings, Nassau, the City of New York, Queens, Richmond, Orange (prohibited in the cities of Middletown and Newburgh only), Schenectady, Suffolk and Westchester.

Curley also does not anticipate a level of gun violence like the spike in the summer of 2021, which included two people killed in shootings over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

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The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative shows a decrease in gun violence from January to May of this year in Utica, as well as a 24% decrease in shooting incidents involving injury from 2020 to 2021.

“As a whole this year, it’s been a precipitous drop both in homicides and in bullet-to-body [non-fatal] shootings,” Curley said.

There will, however, be additional patrols over the holiday weekend, he said.

“There’s always a concern the calls for service will go up,” Rood said of anytime large gatherings may occur, particularly over holiday weekends. She noted there has been a 40% increase in shots-fired calls over the last five years in Rome, though calls dropped from 2021 to 2022.

Rome police recently formed a Street Crime Unit in response to a spike in calls for service. Data from Rome police shows a 24% increase in calls for service from January through March of this year, with a 42% increase in violent crime.

How to use fireworks safely this Fourth of July

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Fire Prevention and Control suggests the following tips for using legal fireworks over the holiday weekend:

  • Purchase sparkling devices and novelty devices from New York State-registered retailers only

  • Always follow the directions located on the packaging

  • Never allow children to handle sparkling devices (It is illegal for anyone under 18 to use sparkling devices)

  • All sparkling devices are for outdoor use only, to be used at a minimum of 10 feet away from a building or structure

  • Always wear eye protection and closed-toe shoes

  • Never light more than one sparkling device at a time

  • Never point a sparkling device toward anyone or any part of the body

  • Keep sparkling devices in a secure, dry and safe location

  • Never use sparkling devices when under the influence of alcohol or drugs

  • Always keep a fire extinguisher nearby

  • Douse malfunctioning and spent devices with water for a minimum of 15 minutes before discarding

  • Use on a non-combustible surface, such as asphalt, concrete or cement, staying away from dry brush and grass

  • Do not use in an area designated by the Department of Environmental Conservation as a red flag area

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: July 4th fireworks: Signs point to quieter holiday this year