Jul 3, 2007 6:42 pm US/Eastern
Area Residents Raid Pa. For Illegal Fireworks
Authorities In N.Y., N.J. Say If You Get Caught, You'll Pay
by Deborah Garcia
STROUDSBURG, Pa. (CBS) ―
Fireworks are a 4th of July staple. What you may not know is that they're often illegal. It may be better for everyone to leave the light shows to the professionals.
A beautiful display in the night sky is tradition on our nation's birthday, but it can also land you in hot water -- if you get caught.
Not that many people in New Jersey care. CBS 2 HD spoke to several that more or less said what the police don't know won't hurt them.
When asked if she was going to take sparklers she had purchased into New Jersey, Kathy Downs of Randolph said, "We are." Does she know they're illegal? "We do."
In fact, many New Jersey residents were recently seen buying fireworks at the Phantom Fireworks Store, just across the Pennsylvania border. They said they weren't concerned about getting caught.
But authorities in both New Jersey and New York say they should be.
"Everybody out there should know we are cracking down on fireworks," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "And with this anti-terrorist overlay ... we will find fireworks. We're monitoring in other states, actively looking for fireworks."
It is legal to buy fireworks in Pennsylvania, but once you take them over into New Jersey or New York you have broken the law.
John Borowski sells fireworks in Stroudsburg and says a lot of his customers are from New York and New Jersey.
"They want the loud stuff, the colorful stuff, basically the stuff that shoots up in the air," Borowski said. "It's their choice of what they can buy. They know the laws in their state."
And there will be additional state troopers on highways enforcing them this holiday.
If you want to watch legal fireworks, the big Macy's Fireworks Show gets underway at 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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