Staten Island residents love their own fireworks displays—you don't have an "all-out brawl" otherwise—but the Staten Island DA's office and NYPD are warning them not to participate in the illegal activity. In fact, the NYPD is flooding certain SI neighborhoods with 100 cops: Borough Commander Stephen Paragallo said the cops would be "broken up into mobile field forces to address complaints of fireworks."
Just this week, SI DA Daniel Donovan referred to a 32-page flier of alluring Sky King Fireworks, which was mailed to residents, "If you purchase fireworks without a permit and bring them into this state, you will be arrested, you will be charged and you will be prosecuted." The minimum fine for fireworks possession without a permit is $250, and then you'll get another $750 fine on top of the if you discharge them. And if you're in possession of $500 worth of fireworks, that's a class "A" misdemeanor, "which carries a steep fine and up to a year in jail," the Advance reports.
The NYPD has arrested 10 people for possession of fireworks so far. Paragallo said, "Although we do acknowledge there is still plenty of work to be done, we are seeing a decrease of 911 and 311 calls compared to last year, as well as less traffic in from (Pennsylvania). More importantly, there were no reported injuries last year which is our primary concern."
