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a regular basis. This has cost me hundreds of dollars and will only continue to cost me more. She has also become aggressive so I'm dealing with that now. I also in the past year began volunteering on a regular basis and made friends with a man who served in Vietnam. He told me that every year on July 4th (and the 3 days leading up and 3 days after) he has to sedate himself in hopes he will sleep though the "festivities" and avoid complications with his PTSD. I can imagine we have hundreds, or more, combat veterans in our city who need to do the same thing. It has really opened my eyes to the struggles of our Service men and RTIOMI O Last year the fireworks were the worse I've seen in my 38 years. The noise carried on well past midnight and the amount of illegal fireworks were ridiculous. I actually filmed what was happening around me because 1 couldn't believe it. The other thing I noticed was that we did not have one police car or fire truck drive down our street, every other year we would see them 3-4 times in a 2 hour period. I assume the police and fire were just overwhelmed and couldn't keep up with what was going on. I would like to see a ban on fireworks because I believe that it will be easier to track down who is using illegal fireworks. understand a ban won't stop people from using them but when the police and firefighters aren't overwhelmed by every other house using some form of firework it will make it easier. I also believe the costs we are spending on the extra coverage could be better spent working on lowering the rising crime rates in our city. I understand non -profits rely on the money raised but I would like to know what that cost is. I can guarantee that the money the citizens of this city are spending on sedating their animals, cleaning up after them, hosing down their homes in hopes they don't catch fire, money spent on hotels to escape the city is far more. Also, when I think of the costs we are spending on Animal Control to wrangle up all the animals who do manage to escape on 4th of July I imagine it to be extremely high. I run a dog rescue so I am well aware of the sheer numbers of strays brought in on the 4th and 5th of July and the costs to tax payers. If a ban is not voted on, I hope you will at least set some strict guidelines. I would like to see less permits given out for firework sales. Last year there were stands all along 17th and Bristol. I also believe there should be a change of the dates people can purchase fireworks, perhaps they should only be sold on the 3rd and 4th to limit people starting their celebrations days early. I also believe there should be a timeframe when residents can set off fireworks. We have noise regulations in place so why not limit the times to between 8pm and 10pm on the 4th only. I also feel there needs to be a higher fine for being caught with both illegal fireworks, but also setting off fireworks during unapproved times. Those fines would increase revenue to the city as police and fire departments. It could even be given back to the non -profits to make up for the loss from not being able to fundraise. I am curious as to what the non -profits actually clear. I hope you listen to each side carefully and weigh all options. I understand that the troubles I have with my dog are of no real concern to anyone but me, but I also don't feel I needed to express my frustrations and fear. As this holiday gets more intense and out of control I fear for the safety of my family, home and pets. Also, with crime rates rising in this city I fear that the 4th of July will become a great cover for crimes that would normally be difficult to hide - shootings and robberies, etc. Thank you, Paige Lefever 2110 N Towner St West Floral Park i