It was quarter to 3 Wednesday morning, and a very angry Ed Zucal hid in his garage, waiting to catch the latest pyrotechnic public enemy in his Allentown neighborhood.
A man had already set off one round of fireworks down the 600 block on North Baxter Street. Zucal, a city councilman and former city police officer, stepped out of his garage and confronted him as he prepared a second round behind Zucal’s house.
Zucal demanded the man’s name and address and vowed to alert the man’s landlord. He noted that his wife, a nurse, gets up at 4 a.m., and “nothing peeves me off more than my wife not being able to get a good night of sleep.”
Zucal may have thwarted that particular scofflaw, but recounting the incident at a council meeting Wednesday night, he fumed over the seeming impossibility of curbing the noise that has barraged his neighborhood night after night recently.
“You can have all the rules you want, but they have to be enforced to correct the problem,” he said, adding later, “I’m sorry, citizens of Allentown, I don’t expect for it to get much better.”
Summer has returned, and so has agitation over fireworks abuse in Allentown and elsewhere in the Lehigh Valley.
A half-dozen residents submitted written public comments to City Council this week, complaining that the incessant explosions are destroying their quality of life. They called on the Pennsylvania Legislature to repeal or amend a 2017 tax provision enabling the sale of aerial fireworks like Roman candles, and begged the city to more strictly enforce regulations on when and where residents can use them.
“It was a dark day in Harrisburg when fireworks [sales] were legalized,” wrote Vernon Scandola, who lives in the 1100 block of North St. Lucas Street. “Now we must find a way to live with the unintended consequences.”
City Council two summers ago passed an ordinance banning fireworks from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Last summer, it adopted a resolution decrying legislators for putting revenue concerns ahead of public safety — fireworks sales are taxed at 12% on top of the traditional 6% sales tax, bringing in more than $11 million in fiscal year 2019. Council also asked the solicitor’s office to investigate potential enforcement tactics, including the confiscation of fireworks.
Nevertheless, the “indiscriminate use” of fireworks has worsened this year, residents and officials believe. While he didn’t have the latest stats, Allentown Police Chief Glenn Granitz Jr. said the department has experienced an uptick in fireworks-related calls. He attributes it, at least partially, to cabin fever and the limited options for entertainment amid a pandemic-hampered graduation season.
Margaretha Hauessler, writing on behalf of the West Park Civic Association, requested Allentown police do more to enforce a ban on detonating fireworks within 150 feet from buildings. She asked that they consider installing more cameras near parking lots and other spaces used as staging areas, and to work with owners of those lots to come up with other preventive measures.
Hauessler asked the city to study whether the fireworks are damaging underground infrastructure, including old gas and water pipes. And she attached a written request to Democratic state Rep. Mike Schlossberg and Republican state Sen. Pat Browne to reconsider the state provision.
Melissa Bailey, who lives in the 2000 block of West Walnut Street, said the fireworks are terrifying her pets and disturbing her wife, a veteran who “lived under constant mortar fire” in Iraq.
“I love fireworks, but this is insane,” she wrote. “My neighborhood used to be quiet and relaxing. Now this is all we hear every day, all week and weekend. … I just can’t take it anymore.”
Allentown is far from the only city that has had issues in recent years. Complaints prompted Bethlehem to prohibit fireworks between 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. and Easton doesn’t allow them at all.
In Reading, illegal fireworks sparked a fire last summer that caused more than $50,000 in damage to a middle school. And an 11-year-old died last summer in a Pittston, Luzerne County, house fire caused by fireworks.
Julian Kern of the Allentown Tenant Association reminded council that fireworks caused a fire last summer that damaged the roof of McKinley Elementary School. He’s started a petition to strengthen state firework laws so police departments can once again confiscate the remaining fireworks of someone caught using them illegally.
In 2017, the Legislature decided legalizing fireworks sales was the most politically palatable way to raise revenue needed to fund struggling public school districts like Allentown’s, Schlossberg said. In retrospect, he says the bill was “the single dumbest thing I’ve supported, and I’ve regretted it ever since.”
Schlossberg says the problem extends beyond city limits — he gets daily emails or calls from his constituents in South Whitehall Township as well as those in Allentown.
Social media backs that up. It’s filled with tweets and Facebook posts like these:
“I dont get how people have this many fireworks and a desire to see them every single night! Did I miss a memo? Is this happening everywhere?”
“It feels like there’s one guy shooting off the occasional firework EVERY SINGLE DAY in EVERY CITY. Bethlehem’s got it, too!”
Schlossberg and fellow Democratic Lehigh Valley state Reps. Peter Schweyer and Robert Freeman are co-sponsors on a Republican-proposed bill that would require fireworks retailers to post signs that inform consumers about fireworks laws, as well as limit the times of day when fireworks can be used, offer guidance to local governments and increase criminal penalties for using fireworks illegally.
The Legislature is unlikely to repeal the law allowing fireworks sales, especially when the state is starved for cash. But Schlossberg says he plans to introduce an amendment that would enable police officers to confiscate remaining fireworks upon issuing a citation for illegal use. He’s optimistic the bill has enough bipartisan support to pass, and hopes it’s sooner than later.
“Other states that have legalized fireworks sales haven’t had the number of problems we’ve had, and I attribute that to tighter controls,” he said. “I think giving police the power to seize fireworks will make a big difference.”
Granitz agrees the confiscation measure will help, though he’d prefer a repeal. In a city where it’s difficult to find spaces 150 feet away from buildings, he questions whether fireworks sales should be legal, and says education is an uphill battle.
Enforcement is even more challenging, given the swift response often required to catch illegal users. The police chief said he understands why residents get frustrated when police don’t arrive as quickly as possible, but reminds them that officers need to respond to a whole lot of calls other than fireworks, some of which take priority.
Ultimately, it’s up to Harrisburg to fix an ill-conceived law, Councilman Joshua Siegel said. But in the meantime, there’s a long summer ahead, and Independence Day approaches. The police department, he said, needs to explore “every conceivable local possibility” to crack down on those breaking the rules and protect, among others, residents who work early or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Quality of life is one of most important fabrics of our society,” he said. “It’s what makes our city such a great place to live. … We should deploy every ounce and technology we have, [including] drones, to make sure we are hunting down people violating the sanctity and peace of our neighborhoods.”
Morning Call reporter Andrew Wagaman can be reached at 610-820-6764 or awagaman@mcall.com.
