Wash Heights ZIP Has Most NYC Firework Complaints Since April

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The city saw an explosion of amateur firework displays during the summer of 2020 — and while the barrage of complaints about the explosions is significantly lower across the five boroughs so far this year — a Washington Heights ZIP code still has the most firework complaints made to 311 in the city from April 1 to June 25 of 2021.

Not only does Washington Height's 10032 ZIP code have the most complaints made to 311 about fireworks in the spring and summer of 2021 so far, but three of the five ZIP codes across the entirety of New York City with the most firework complaints during the period are in Upper Manhattan.

"There have always been fireworks in the Heights and Inwood, but usually you could expect them a couple of days before the 4th of July and for the most part a reasonable ending time.," Wendy Guardado, an Upper Manhattan resident and moderator of a Facebook group called WaHi and Inwood for Respectful Decibel Levels, told Patch. "Not only are there the usual displays but this time large booms that sound like bombs without any visual display are being deployed. Fireworks have hit my windows and smoke has come through my window AC. I hear babies crying, dogs barking, and car alarms going off in the aftermath."

Here are the 10 New York City ZIP codes with the most firework complaints made to 311 from April 1 to June 25 in 2021.

1. 10032 (Washington Heights): 470
2. 10031: 346
3. 10040 (Washington Heights/Inwood): 342
4. 11226: 309
5. 10034 (Inwood): 226
6. 10037: 220
7. 10030: 198
8. 10026: 191
9. 10468: 182
10. 10027: 143

@SenatorRJackson thanks 4 the shout out of the WaHI-Inwood Task Force on Noise in your letter to the Mayor. Community members have worked hard over the last 7-plus months to get action/accountability. But community still suffers. Watch fireworks set off in middle of busy street pic.twitter.com/JM2Dm566Oe
— TMBonnerCB12 (@Cb12Tm) June 6, 2021

Tanya Bonner, who posted the above video of recent firework explosions in Upper Manhattan and is a member of Community Board 12, formed the WaHi-Inwood Task Force on Noise to help craft solutions around noise-related issues in Washington Heights and Inwood.

ZIP codes in Northern Manhattan registering the most complaints about fireworks isn't a new phenomenon.

From April to July 2020, four of the five top ZIP codes with the most firework complaints made to 311 were also in Washington Heights and Inwood. Last year during the period, however, Flatbush's 11226 ZIP code had the most complaints.

As the firework complaints continue to phone in from Northern Manhattan, part of the Washington Heights and Inwood community braces itself for the July 4 weekend. It's a period of time that moderators of the WaHi and Inwood for Respectful Decibel Levels call "likely the worst firework week of the year."

Claudia Schaer, the founder of the Facebook group focused on Upper Manhattan noise, told Patch that the group has been documenting the number of residents hearing fireworks in Washington Heights and Inwood each day.

"Our diverse and multi-generational community is suffering from the resulting high health and safety effects," Schaer said. "Our community needs help, and while we are glad that the municipal Fireworks Task Force is confiscating illegally bought fireworks at the point of sale, it clearly needed to begin work earlier in the year, rather than only in June, to prevent the massive influx of illegal and dangerous fireworks currently being set off in our neighborhood."

Currently, Schaer says that 40 to 60 Upper Manhattan residents in the group check the daily poll that they hear fireworks nearby, and 80 residents on average check the same box over the weekend.

"This isn't a weekend phenomenon, it happens on a Tuesday, in front of kids and the elderly. Noise, in general, has increased and alongside the fireworks, you have 3-foot speakers amplifying music, cars and dirt bikes revving with modified mufflers," Guardado told Patch. "It's been incredibly distressing and it just feels that officials can't or won't fix the problem."

On June 23, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced the arrest of a man who was accused of setting off a major firework explosion by mixing M80s and flour to create a larger than usual blast in Inwood.

ARRESTED

The suspect in a recent fireworks detonation in Upper Manhattan has been arrested & charged. W/ a half dozen priors, this is not his 1st arrest.

Illegal & dangerous, fireworks should be left to the professionals.

Great work by your @NYPDDetectives & @NYPD34Pct cops. pic.twitter.com/o0EHecuyGn
— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) June 23, 2021

The firework situation in Upper Manhattan remains one of the more polarizing issues within the community.

While one set of residents vent their frustrations about the constant bombardment of noise, another set of locals allege that the majority of people making complaints about fireworks are people that aren't originally from the neighborhood, and cracking down on the issue will just lead to more unnecessary confrontations between people of color and police.

Read More: 'Living In A War Zone': NYC Illegal Fireworks Still Spark Anger