As Complaints About Fireworks Skyrocket, BP Adams Joins CM Cornegy Demanding City Address Quality-Of-Life Concerns

Press release from the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President:

June 21 2020

Brooklyn, NY – Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams joined Council Member Robert Cornegy and Brooklyn Community Board 3 (CB 3) to demand that the City allocate more resources toward addressing the drastic rise in complaints about illegal fireworks around Brooklyn.

According to recent reports, 311 complaints about illegal fireworks have surged in recent weeks, with 1,737 recorded in the first half of June — more than 80 times the amount in the same time period last year. Over the past two months, 311 logged 4,862 complaints of fireworks throughout the city. Brooklyn has led the five boroughs in the number of complaints that came in to 311, with 2,233. Complaints have been concentrated in areas of Central Brooklyn such as Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Flatbush. Borough President Adams and Council Member Cornegy called on the City to deploy Cure Violence groups to respond on the ground to fireworks complaints, while having law enforcement groups track the source of the fireworks and how they are flowing into the city.

Some reports have indicated that many of the fireworks that have been the source of so many complaints are similar to those used during the Macy’s 4th of July celebrations, making them more dangerous than standard store-bought devices. A teenager in the Bronx was hospitalized in stable condition after a firework hit him in the chest. In the same 24-hour period, a 33-year-old Crown Heights man was hospitalized in critical condition this past week after he set off a firework that ricocheted off a window and hit him.

“This is an opportunity to put community policing into action. We need solutions that don’t just think outside the box, they destroy the box — engaging community groups to meet people where they are and speak their language. As we re-evaluate the role of law enforcement in upholding quality-of-life concerns, we must re-envision our frontline response to these kinds of nonviolent acts, using Cure Violence groups and fraternal organizations such as the Vulcan Society and the Guardians Association to communicate with people about the dangers of fireworks. I thank Council Member Cornegy, CB 3, and concerned community residents for lifting their voices, and I encourage people throughout Brooklyn and New York City to take a more compassionate, measured approach to addressing this issue,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

“This is a moment for rethinking and reimagining how we address issues like illegal fireworks. We have the benefit of guidance from Cure Violence and violence interrupter models that prioritize community education and community engagement. These times demand that we stop disproportionately leaning on policing and law enforcement. Instead, we must conscientiously pursue alternatives. I am proud to stand with Borough President Adams, advocates, and community in pursuit of a more thoughtful approach on illegal fireworks and similar quality-of-life issues in our communities,” said Council Member Robert E. Cornegy, Jr.

This press release was produced by the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President. The views expressed here are the author’s own.