Two men were arrested on Staten Island Tuesday for allegedly possessing a trove of illegal fireworks, the FDNY said.
Fire Marshals nabbed Matthew King, 35, and Rayval Singh, 22, during a probe into the blasts that have been rocking Big Apple streets nearly every night this month.
King and Singh will be charged with reckless endangerment and the unlawful dealing of fireworks, the department said.
Photos released by the FDNY showed dozens of boxes of explosives in the back of a van. The cache was apparently valued at $6,000, officials said.
The skyrocketing use of fireworks across the city has caused an unprecedented amount of complaints.
A whopping 8,967 gripes about the fiery racket were reported to the city’s 311 system from June 1 through Sunday, compared to just 28 recorded the previous year.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the formation of a “task force” comprised of NYPD Intelligence Bureau officers, FDNY Fire Marshals and officers from the Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation that’ll investigate suppliers and distributors and what’s behind the rise.
Scores of drivers honked their car horns near Gracie Mansion Monday night to disrupt the mayor’s slumber in protest of the recent uptick in pyrotechnics.
