#Gov. Andrew Cuomo admits fireworks keep him up at night, and are ‘out of control’

ALBANY — Even Gov. Andrew Cuomo can’t catch a good night’s sleep because of all the illegal fireworks going off, he admitted Monday.

“I don’t know what is going on. I don’t know what is going on,” Cuomo said during an WAMC radio interview.

“You can be in New York City, it sounds like the Wild West at night. Even in Albany, I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t know what has happened. You know it’s, I don’t remember a year like this, I really don’t, and I want to understand it better, anecdotally I think it’s out of control,” he said.

Fireworks are illegal in the five boroughs, but New York City has seen a big uptick in usage over the last several weeks.

Mayor Bill de Blasio hasn’t made going after those setting off the pyrotechnics displays an enforcement priority, despite several cases that have resulted in bad injuries.

When asked if all fireworks in the state should be banned outright, Cuomo deflected.

“Well I want to get some facts first, we’ve dealt with it legislatively before, but I want to understand what is happening this year.

“I don’t know if it’s just anecdotal, or if my hearing has just gotten better, or if I just happen to be in a location…but it’s, especially New York City, I mean it’s a major problem.”

He added that sometimes he’s so startled at night that he jumps out of his bed.

“The buck stops with the mayor, the buck stops with the governor. I don’t know if the police have too much going on, I don’t know if it’s the disruption that’s going on,” Cuomo said.

The governor had announced earlier during a Manhattan-based briefing the creation of a new “Fireworks Enforcement Detail” run by the state police bent on blocking illegal fireworks from being brought into the Empire State from Pennsylvania, where they are legal.

The task-force will be in place until July 3 and was created in direct response to a reported rise in firework use across the state.