Uptown Fireworks Complaints Soar In Coronavirus Lockdown: Data

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Complaints about illegal fireworks shooting through the skies at all hours of the night have soared in New York City since the coronavirus lockdown.

And the problem has been a particular nuisance in Northern Manhattan, data shows.

All but one of the four zip codes that make up Washington Heights and Inwood ranked in the city's top 10 for illegal fireworks complaints during the lockdown, starting in March, according to 311 data. The fourth zip code was ranked number 11.

Altogether, the neighborhoods logged more than 200 fireworks complaints since March 18, compared to just eight during the same time period last year.

"They are literally EXPLOSIVE and no one has been able to sleep," said one of several neighbors on Twitter who complained last week that the fireworks had become a nightly occurrence. "That was a fun little game - enough is enough."

The noise has become so bad in Uptown that several neighbors even went as far as to create a new Facebook groups in the hopes of organizing to stop the illegal displays.

The "WAHI and Inwood for Respectful Decibel Levels" group has gained 200 members since it was created a month ago.

Some neighbors say the summertime fireworks shows are nothing new and that complaints about them pop up every year around this time, according to posts online.

But, at least as far as 311 calls are concerned, there has been a definitive uptick in recent months.

There were a total of 67 calls about illegal fireworks in the Uptown neighborhoods throughout all of 2019, compared to the 211 calls just between March 18 and June 16 this year.

Uptown Manhattan isn't alone, though.

The zip code with the highest number of complaints during the coronavirus lockdown was 11226 in Brooklyn, where 300 calls have been logged since March 18.

Across the city, specifically in June, 311 calls about fireworks have jumped 4,000 percent from last year, as first reported by Gothamist.

Here are how many complaints there have been by zip code during lockdown:

• 11226: 300
• 10032: 107
• 10463: 61
• 10040: 42
• 11225: 38
• 11212: 37
• 10034: 36
• 10025: 29
• 10031: 28
• 10033: 26

Patch editor Matt Troutman contributed to this report.