New York City set to crackdown on illegal fireworks spree

For weeks, New York has lived up to its nickname as the city that never sleeps, but not in a good way.

In many neighborhoods, the near-constant pops and bangs of fireworks - beginning in early evening and persisting until almost dawn - provide an unwelcome soundtrack.

The purchase, sale and ignition of fireworks is illegal in New York City. And some of those being used, weeks ahead of the July 4th holiday, are professional-grade.

While the phenomenon has some theorizing that people are simply letting off steam after months of seclusion under coronavirus lockdowns, many residents are unenthused.

The city has received more than 13,300 complaints about illegal fireworks on its 911 emergency line so far in 2020 - 12,500 of them in the month of June alone, police told AFP.

In the first six months of 2019, according to police, the city fielded just 1,007 similar reports.

On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio launched a task force to crack down on the pyrotechnics, saying law enforcement would target suppliers, including with sting operations, "to go and get these illegal fireworks at the base."

Following his announcement, many on social media voiced concern over increased policing, in the wake of weeks of protests over racism and police brutality.

De Blasio said the task force - to include 10 police officers, 12 fire marshals and 20 investigators from the city sheriff's office - were going to target "big fish," not "the kid on the corner."

"We're focused on the people that are really profiting and really distributing a lot of fireworks," the mayor said.

"In a lot of cases, you can't intervene if someone shoots off a firework and they're gone," he said. "It's not a good use of police time and energy."

New York is not alone in dealing with the trend of amateur fireworks - other cities including Boston and Chicago have reported similar waves of all-night pyrotechnics.