Police Cracking Down On Fireworks In These WNY Cities This Summer

If you were outside at all last summer during quarantine it often felt like there were fireworks every night.  Police are hoping to put an end to that after complaints.

I'm not sure what people were doing last year that made it feel like this, but it really felt like there were more fireworks than ever during summer nights last year.  It was like every night.

This year, people have already begun to complain and police have issued an advisory in two cities in the southern tier.

Both Olean and Jamestown police departments have sent out messages to remind people what is and isn't legal in New York State.

The fireworks never seem to bother me...but my dogs are a different story.  They hate it.  It's one thing to expect them on Memorial Day or the 4th of July.  Those are dates that can be prepared for.  There are things you can do to help make it easier for your dogs when you can prepare for them.  But when it's every night, or late into the night it can be exhausting to pet owners.

That also doesn't take into consideration the soldiers who might be in your neighborhood who suffer from PTSD.  Random explosions in a neighborhood can really be traumatic in those cases.

A lot of people will sarcastically say things like "How dare Americans celebrate their freedom?!"  It's not about that in my opinion.  It's about having respect for your neighbors.  Don't get me wrong...I'm all for fireworks.  But it's all about time and place.  Randomly shooting them off in the middle of the week during late night hours is pretty disrespectful.  That is where the complaints come from.

These advisories are from departments in the southern tier, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear about more of them being put in place this summer.  It's not a bad thing to be aware of what is legal and what isn't.