Long Beach City Council Approves $15K Fine, 15-Day Jail Option For Fireworks Offenses

LONG BEACH, NY — The Long Beach City Council voted Tuesday evening to approve an ordinance change that ups the maximum penalty for fireworks violations.

Open for public comment Tuesday night, the ordinance will raise the maximum penalty for fireworks violations to no more than $15,000 or 15 days of prison time.

“The sale or discharge of fireworks, firearms or explosives is, obviously, a very serious public safety concern, and we feel the repercussions for violating this section should match the gravity of the offense,” City Manager Dan Creighton said.

In their comments before public comment opened, multiple members of the city council noted fireworks have become a quality of life and public safety issue.

“One of the top complaints we receive here at city hall is, certainly, fireworks,” Councilman Michael Reinhart said. “As a parent of teenagers, all you have to do is go to YouTube and look at some of the horrible, horrible accidents that are posted…of kids blowing up fingers, blowing up hands, hurting people, hurting their families.”

The city council added that, if the use of fireworks results in bodily harm to bystanders, violators could face criminal charges.

Eileen Heschen, a Long Beach resident, asked the council how the fireworks code would be enforced, especially during summer months when there are larger crowds in the city and on its beaches. To that, the police commissioner said there would be extra patrols from LBPD.

“We’ll have extra patrols out there…especially around fourth of July, we do that every year. And we are seeing more and more complaints — and more and more fireworks — lately, which is why we want to increase these fees,” De Palma said. “It’s just a lot easier to purchase fireworks than it has been in the past…Now you can just buy these things online. So it’s become a bigger problem than it was.”

Creighton added that the kind of fireworks on the market today are larger than those that had been available in the past.

The fireworks resolution passed unanimously when voted on, with council vice president Chris Fiumara not present at the meeting.