Binghamton Residents Blast Rumble Ponies Fireworks Shows

The fireworks shows will go on after several Binghamton Rumble Ponies games this year despite protests from some city residents.

City Council Tuesday approved a schedule of a dozen fireworks events at Mirabito Stadium following baseball games this spring and summer.

The four-to-one vote authorizing the shows followed a public comment session during a special business meeting of the council.

Critics of the post-game displays expressed concerns about the noise from the fireworks and the potential contamination of nearby yards and gardens.

Some opponents said the fireworks shows disrupted sleep, along with causing anxiety for veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder.

One woman said the loud explosions frighten her dog, prompting the pet to hide in the basement of her home.

A downtown resident who identified herself as the site coordinator for the Pine Street community garden said she was concerned about possible health and environmental effects.

She said after a stadium fireworks show she observed a "low, dense cloud of smog creeping through the neighborhood and approaching the garden that I have been entrusted to protect." She said she "knew the implications of the noxious cloud could not be good."

The woman told lawmakers that VINES - which oversees local gardens - conducted soil testing on the Pines Street site and throughout the neighborhood. She said some high levels of metal compounds used in fireworks were detected in the tests.

Fourth District councilmember Nate Hotchkiss cast the sole vote against allowing fireworks shows this year. He said "we're essentially creating a plume around the stadium of different toxins." He added that "it's unhealthy for the folks that live in that area."

The Rumble Ponies have scheduled three fireworks shows after April games, The first is to take place after the home opener next Tuesday evening.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.