Cuomo vetoed a bill to legalize fireworks in NY cities

New York is among only four states that have not legalized the use of any kind of fireworks.

“They are very dangerous, illegal and should be left to the professionals,” Frank Dwyer, a spokesman for the Fire Departments of New York, said.

The FDNY declined to comment on the legislation that would have made them legal.

While the bill would have legalized consumer fireworks sold to the general public for recreational use, missile-type fireworks, Roman candles and other more explosive forms of fireworks used in professional displays would have still been illegal.

The bill would also have required purchasers to be at least 18 years old and to carry a permit certifying passage of a fireworks safety training program within the last three years.

But because New York City has an estimated 8,391,881 people according to the United States Census Bureau, the bill would not have applied either way.

According to David Jacobowitz, president of the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York, this is good news.

“Once you open the door letting the small stuff come in, you don’t know when it’s going to stop,” Jacobowitz said.

In a statement released just before the Fourth of July this year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned New York City residents of the dangerous consequences of buying, selling or using fireworks, especially for amateurs. From January to July, the Police Department confiscated more than 5,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, ranging in size from sparklers to professional pyrotechnics.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that 8,600 people went to the emergency room in 2010 due to firework-related injuries.

“Legislators are looking for this [bill] to be a form of income through taxation,” Jacobowitz said. “I know the city of New York and Mayor Bloomberg and the FDNY were vehemently opposed because they had difficulties way back when fireworks were rampant in the city.”