After Fights Last Year, Moving Pointes Fireworks to St. Clair Shores Impractical

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Grosse Pointe Woods’ Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza appears to be fizzling.

City officials voted this week to pull the plug on the fireworks display after determining a planned move to the gated, city-owned park about two miles away in St. Clair Shores was impractical, The Detroit News reports.

The proposed move from After fights and reported gang activity at last summer’s fireworks display, officials said they wanted to move the display from the Parcells Middle School’s athletic field to the more secure gated Lake Front Park.

At least 13 fights erupted during the festivities last year, despite the presence of about 35 Grosse Pointe Woods police officers and four dozen city employees providing on-site security.

The problem with moving the fireworks display to St. Clair Shores was that launching the pyrotechnics from a barge in the lake would have required the permission of the U.S. Coast Guard. St. Clair Shores police would also have been charged with traffic control

“We ultimately said we’d do them there if it was feasible,” Mayor Bob Novitke said. “But as the city administration got information together, it just wasn’t going to happen with all the permits and costs.”

The official cancellation of the June 28 fireworks is on the March 16 city council agenda.