Are You Setting Off Fireworks in the Middle of the Night? Everyone Hates You
The Fourth of July is still more than a week out. But social media is already flooded with people complaining about fireworks waking them up . . . waking their kids up . . . or scaring their pets.
Obviously it’s nothing new. It always happens around the Fourth. But it seems like it’s even more common this year.
New York City has had 426 TIMES more noise complaints in June than the same time last year. And it’s up in other cities too, including L.A., Vegas, Chicago, and Boston.
Hundreds of people in New York sat outside the mayor’s mansion Monday night and honked their horns to wake him up, just so he’d know how it feels. And yesterday, he announced the city is cracking down on illegal fireworks.
So why is it such a problem this year? Well, noise complaints are up in general during the lockdown, because everyone’s home and there’s less traffic to drown things out. And just wanting to get outside and blow off steam is a factor.
But there are also fewer fireworks displays planned this year. So more people are buying their own, and there’s a surplus of louder professional-grade fireworks out there. So it’s possible more people have gotten their hands on them.
(Time / LA Times / Gothamist / NY Post)
