Fireworks Conspiracies Explode As NYC Launches Task Force To Look Into Blasts

TOPLINE

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that a task force will be deployed to crack down on illegal fireworks being set off in neighborhoods—after a night when protesters chanted “We don’t sleep, you don’t sleep” outside Gracie mansion—as complaints about nightly pyrotechnics proliferate nationwide, leading to conspiracy theories about their emergence.

KEY FACTS

Crucial quote

“Illegal fireworks are both dangerous and a public nuisance,” de Blasio said Tuesday. “We’re cracking down on this activity at the source to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers and the ability of our neighbors to get some sleep.”

What to watch for

In New York City, a scaled-back July Fourth Macy’s fireworks display. De Blasio first promised in April that the fireworks would still take place, despite the pandemic. The details were announced Tuesday: a series of five-minute shows across the boroughs starting June 29 and concluding July 1. “It might be Peak de Blasio to plan a citywide fireworks extravaganza at a time when the whole city is absolutely sick of fireworks,” tweeted a local television reporter.

Tangent

Friday was Juneteenth, a holiday marking the end of U.S. slavery. With the widespread anti-racism movement sparked by the George Floyd protests, Juneteenth has come to the forefront of the national consciousness for possibly the first time in U.S. history. And fireworks are a traditional way of honoring the day.

Key background

Complaints about fireworks have surged across the country, disrupting people’s ability to sleep, as well as impacting dogs and those with PTSD, such as military veterans, who are sensitive to the loud noises. Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis are among the larger cities fielding complaints, while smaller suburbs in Massachusetts, Virginia and California are also receiving calls from residents. Partially fueling the psyop conspiracies are videos that surfaced on social media showing NYPD vehicles circling a Harlem block while fireworks detonated in the background, as well as FDNY firefighters spotted setting off the explosives in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. De Blasio’s task force announcement, however, came the morning after protesters honked their horns outside his residence as a means of demanding action over the fireworks. 

Further reading

Firework Sales—And Complaints—Skyrocket Across America (Forbes)

Who Needs Sleep When There’s So Many Big FIREWORKS To Blow Up All Night Every Night??? (Gothamist)

New York City Announces Crackdown on Illegal Fireworks (New York Times)

Who will solve the great fireworks mystery, and will we ever sleep again? (Washington Post)