Two things about fireworks on Independence Day

First, how did the use of fireworks to celebrate Independence Day become tradition?

On July 3, 1776, John Adams, wrote that the Declaration of our Independence from Britain must be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” The first celebration of Independence occurred a year later, on July 4, 1777, in Philadelphia, and the rest is history.

Second,are fireworks illegal in New York?

Yes. Notably, Gov. Cuomo signed a law that would permit small fireworks to be legally sold in New York. This includes novelty items like party poppers. However, this doesn’t mean that everyone in New York State is off the hook. The new law requires each county to decide on its own, whether to “opt-in” to the State law and allow the sale of these products. Neither Nassau not Suffolk Counties have elected to opt-in. For now, the sale of these items and consumer use of fireworks in Nassau and Suffolk are still illegal. Violators are subject to criminal penalties (see Penal Law §270.00- Unlawfully Dealing with Fireworks and Dangerous Fireworks) and stiff civil fines.

Please be careful because not only are these activities unlawful, but they can be very dangerous. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in 2010, approximately 8,600 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries that were associated with fireworks. Over half of these injuries were burns, and most of the injuries involved people’s heads ---including the face, eyes and ears-- as well as hands, fingers and legs. Another sobering fact: more than 50 percent of the estimated injuries involved children and young adults under the age of 20.