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Mayor: Fireworks in Boston out of control
By adamg on Wed, 06/10/2020 - 11:18am
At a City Hall press conference this morning, Mayor Walsh said fireworks complaints in May were up 2,300% over last May. He then emphasized that was not a typo - the city got 650 fireworks complaints last month, compared to just 27 a year ago.
Walsh said police are doing what they can to seize fireworks, but he pleaded with people who are setting them off to think twice, even if they don't care that they're illegal here.
People are frightened, people are losing sleep, pets and babies are terrified, veterans and others with PTSD are experiencing real harm, he said. "Think about your community, and stop it!"
Walsh added that we can't blame New Hampshire for all of the sudden influx of loud explosives - some of the fireworks seized in recent days by police aren't for sale in the Granite State.
Walsh then recalled his days as a youth, when you could just go down to Haymarket to buy fireworks - and you wouldn't start setting them off until July 3, unlike today, when Haymarket has resumed its role as a place to just buy produce and the nightly barrages begin in May.
City councilor to host forum on fireworks trauma on Thursday.
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Comments
Ha!
“People are frightened, people are losing sleep, pets and babies are terrified, veterans and others with PTSD are experiencing real harm, he said. "Think about your community, and stop it!"“
The people setting off these fireworks for weeks do not care and won’t think about their community.
Don't like the fireworks?
Call a social worker.
Some are coming from
Virginia in my creepy experience. Last night was loud and bright and late so I just had to report it. Cops came, no arrests.
big ones are illegal in VA
big ones are illegal in VA too. Have to go to SC.
Fire With Fire
I am not generally an advocate of "fighting fire with fire", but these d-bags who are setting of fireworks from 11 PM to 4 PM (as they do in my neighborhood) have got to stop. If they are keeping those hours they are obviously sleeping in the daytime. We have to find out who they are and go to their house in the daytime when all is quiet and they are sleeping and set off fireworks. We will see how they like it.
Correction
I meant 11 PM to 4 AM. But you know what I mean.
um how about we focus on shootings
gawd we are soft - people are crying about fireworks when people are being shot in our neighbors nightly. have some perspective people.
It's quite possible ...
For people to be concerned about more than one issue, you know. If you need links to the mayor and the police commissioner discussing the increase in shootings in Boston, let me know.
Fireworks and people getting
Fireworks and people getting shot is two different things. Maybe you dont have a job, or dont have to get up early for work like the rest of us folks. So yes, we are going to COMPLAIN!!!!!!!!
Did it occur to you that
Did it occur to you that maybe some of those most impacted ARE people who are in areas where people are getting shot at? Imagine a shooting on Monday night and by Thursday you finally convince your kids that everything will be fine even though there was gunfire outside, police brutality, mass demonstrations in the street, that Corona Virus thing we all forgot about, everyone being on edge and on and on. They finally go to bed after a long day of chasing them as they fall apart due to not seeing their friends and not sleeping , you are in bed trying to figure out how you will get back to work to pay all these bills without anyplace for your kids to go. Then just as you finally close your eyes BAAAAAMMMMMMMMM Kids are all up screaming in terror, you don't know what just happened.
This is not uncommon. This is slightly altered from an actual story I heard from a friend. She lives in a part of town where gunfire goes off a lot. She is a single mother. Currently unemployed trying to figure out how get back to work, she is not white collar so telecommuting is not as easy. She worries that even if the restaurants fully open and she can work again, what of her kids? Not to mention the horrors of home schooling with math she does not recognize anymore, Common Core mostly. She is a wreck and these fireworks are almost literally taking years off of her life.
But nah, tell me again how people should endure this so you and your buddies and sit around listening to big booms and cheering for bright flashy lights while trying to make it sound like only Suburban Soccer Moms from Hyde Park care about this.
my god, do people read?
Those two issues are intertwined!
Cops responding to what they (and the 911 callers) assume are gunshots only to find charred tubes of freedom scattered on the ground. Much like the people who set them off.
Remember; Light fuse and get away.
It wastes resources not to mention puts everyone involved in a dangerous situation when officers arrive with guns drawn.
Maybe an odd coincidence
But in keeping up with the news "back home" today, it looks like Syracuse is having a similar problem. I wonder if this is happening on a broader scale?
JP
It's definitely worse this year. I can't recall a time when fireworks have been so prevalent while the sun is still shining. During the week, we're talking 4 pm. During the weekend, I think they're sometimes going off even earlier. Between the fireworks and the helicopters, I'm definitely beginning to lose my marbles.
Fireworks madness
I live in Roslindale and have for the past 9 years with my husband. The fireworks are off the charts every single night. I’m posting in the hopes law enforcement would read this to crack down on individuals doing it. It has been daily for over 10 days from midnight to 4 am. It is intentional. It appears they are being blasted from the corner of Washington st and Archdale Street. Please help bring peace back to our neighborhood.
People are bored
15-20% of the population is out of work. Fireworks are cheap and fun.
I agree with the suggestion to legalize it during established times and under supervision of the fire department.
Re: People are bored
I'm sorry but fireworks are NOT cheap - especially since you also have to travel to buy them out of state. So that 15-20% of the population who is out of work should save their money, or better yet, donate it to causes and people who are need right now instead of terrorizing their own community and neighbors.
https://blacklivesmatterboston.org/
http://www.stablegroundboston.org/
https://www.massbailfund.org/
https://www.macovid19relieffund.org/
Not encouraging fireworks
Note I'm not encouraging anyone to go buy fireworks. It's a pretty good way to loose fingers and nothing else. But obviously a lot of people enjoy them and they're not too hard to find.
I'm only offering up an explanation as to why there's a big rise in use and complaints this year.
I had posted a comment about
I had posted a comment about "have to travel out of state to buy" and questioning who could afford the trip in a different article. It occurred to me later that there is doubtless no shortage of local entrepreneurs able to make the trip to NH to stock up to serve the local "resale" market.
"Fireworks are cheap and fun"
Fun, yes. Cheap, hell no.
do you think
that the people firing them off at all hours now would really keep to a strict schedule?
I do think this is the perfect example of how traditional policing fails while an alternative of community based accountability might work better. This kind of situation cannot be dealt with using top-down "enforcement", because the root of it is knowing your neighbors and having consideration for them.
"fun"
I find it hard to empathize with anybody who still thinks "WHEE LOUD BANG NOISE FUN! YAYYY" on the 15th consecutive day. Fireworks are boring.
I honestly don't care about
I honestly don't care about the fireworks in and of themselves (I grew up in a place where they are legal), but I really wish they would just read the room, given all of the protests going on. I hear the fireworks and wonder if the police are firing flashbang grenades at protesters.
Maybe
Maybe people are "reading the room" and figuring they can get away with setting them off.
c'mon already
I don't know if BPD has used a single flash bang recently, but if they did, I'm guessing it was mainly during the most severe riots.
The entire city has had fireworks going almost constantly every evening for weeks. And sparodic gunshots (none by police). So stop it already.
Do you know who also hates fireworks?
Skunks. Our block was treated to five impromptu fireworks displays and two skunkings last night.
Need analysis
I need a study done on the correlation between people whining about fireworks and those who prioritize maintaining status quo over the relevance of human life. BLM.
Mmm
Still think the ~ 2 week stretch of extra extra loud disturbances wasn’t related to the protests? Those numbers under the dots are pretty telling. Been pretty darn quiet since George Floyd was laid to rest.
Mayor: Fireworks in Boston
Mayor: Fireworks in Boston out of control
Resident: NO S#$_&---+, Marty!
The combination of the humidity/mist that gathered last night and the lingering smoke of fireworks that started around 5 pm and went on and off until at least 2:30 am resulted in my smoke detectors going off three times about 20 minutes apart, starting at 5 am!
A mild night and I was forced to close all my windows and turn on my air conditioners to filter out the air in the house!
...and we have an asthmatic in the house!
Fireworks madness
As I type this reply, it’s another night of fireworks. I haven’t slept in 10 days straight because there are fireworks at all hours of the night and surprisingly the day. I wish someone would do something to make them stop.. ever night in Roslindale near JP, you can get a good fireworks display. We have our air conditioned units and we wake up to the sounds at any hours. This is so upsetting but no one has done anything about it even after the mayor said they would. Disappointing.
nimby
In my neighborhood in Brighton, fireworks incidents seem to be fewer than usual. Probably because BC sent the kids home.
I remember being shocked recently to see low-level
fireworks (sparklers, snappers, ground-based fountains, that sort of thing -- no firecrackers or Roman candles) being sold in RI supermarkets on big displays. Never noticed they legalized them 10 years ago.
(I used to love those stinky, smoky black snake things when I was a kid in MA.)