Something happened early in the pandemic. Frustrated by a deadly virus that kept many trapped inside, isolated and increasingly desperate for everything from socialization to supplies, people started setting off fireworks.
In larger cities such as New York, which in 2020 received 80 times as many fireworks complaints as in 2019, and Boston, which had a 2,300% jump in complaints, fireworks exploded every night, in every neighborhood, lit by . . . someone.
