Are Fireworks Illegal At New Year’s Eve Celebrations in New York?

As New Year's Eve approaches, many folks are opting to stay at home this year due to the rise in COVID-19 cases. You might want to buy some fireworks to add a little razzle-dazzle to your at-home celebration, but is it legal in New York? Yes...and no.

It depends on where you live in New York. Certain counties have banned fireworks. New York State permits "sparkling devices," so long as an area has not deemed them illegal.

Sparkling Devices are ground based or handheld devices that produce a shower of colored sparks and or a colored flame, audible crackling or whistling noise and smoke. The law limits the type, size and construction of Sparkling Devices and requires that these devices must be hand held or mounted on a base or spike and be limited in sizes that range from 1 to 500 grams of pyrotechnic composition.

Here are the counties and cities in New York that ban fireworks:

- Albany County
- Bronx County
- Columbia County
- Kings County
- Nassau County
- New York County
- Orange County (Cities of Middletown and Newburgh only)
- Queens County
- Richmond County
- Schenectady County
- Suffolk County
- Westchester County

The sale of fireworks is permitted in areas where it is legal from December 26 to January 2.

If you are going to set off some fireworks at your New Year's Eve celebration, Fireworks.com offers some safety tips:

- Do not use with Alcohol
- Never attempt to take a firecracker apart
- Never hold a firecracker while lighting
- Never put your head or any part of your body over a firecracker when lighting