With the clock ticking down toward the 4th of July next week, a lot of people around the Capital Region are stocking up on fireworks.
New York state now allows each county to decide whether it will permit the sale of sparklers and other low-level pyrotechnics. But, one county, Schenectady, has already backed out and pulled the welcome mat out from underneath the tents, which now dot the landscape just about everywhere else.
The county is putting out an advisory message today that fireworks, no matter how small or seemingly harmless, are illegal. "We're also reminding people that the right place to enjoy fireworks is at an organized display put on by licensed professionals," said Gary Hughes, the Majority Leader of the Schenectady County Legislature.
"I have no reservations whatsoever," Hughes said. "I absolutely think it was the right thing to do."
Schenectady County became the first to do an about-face on legislation that allows individual counties to decide on their own whether to allow the sale of sparklers after a large number of noise and fireworks-related complaints last summer.
"The evidence that we gathered in the process leading up to the vote indicates that even the sparkling devices can dangerous and can cause damage," Hughes said.
Despite that, reports indicate police have responded to more than a dozen noise-related complaints so far.
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