Many New Yorkers expressed fear and confusion related to Paris attacks over under-publicized fireworks display for private event near Ellis Island

A number of New Yorkers were frightened on Thursday night when fireworks went off on a barge near Ellis Island with little warning.



“Distant explosions is not a cool feel right now,” one Twitter user posted.

“Anyone else in greenpoint hear all that sound?” Elena Ramos, 36, tweeted. “Sounds like bombs or non stop m80s.”

“I was actually afraid. I kept thinking, dear God are we actually being bombed right now?” Ramos, an executive assistant at MetLife, told the Guardian. “Especially after what happened in Paris. It was really alarming.”

The New York City website had put up a listing for the fireworks, stating “fireworks displays” would occur on Thursday at 9.45pm near Liberty Island, and the New York City emergency notification system had tweeted about the event on Wednesday, but the National Park Service for the Statue of Liberty national monument and Ellis Island admitted there was a relative lack of publicity.

“The fireworks that went off last night were for a private event held on Ellis Island last night – hence the lack of publicity,” said Jerry Willis, acting public affairs officer for the landmarks.

Fernanda DeSouza, 23, a content manager at mobile ticketing app YPlan, was in her room in Bushwick, Brooklyn, applying to graduate school when she heard the noise. She immediately called her boyfriend, followed by a colleague and two friends. She contacted her father to see if he had heard anything and even checked the New York Times for information. Finally she Googled “Are there fireworks in NYC today” and got her answer.

“This entire Isis situation has taken my paranoia to a whole new level,” DeSouza said. “Of course I can’t live my life in fear and have every little (or big) noise deter me from living my life normally day-to-day, but I’ve been very cautious and it’s been in the back of my mind.”

Amy Hunt, a 28-year-old visual designer, was also frightened by the noise, which she described as “a deep booming in the distance”. She was standing on her porch with her roommates but with heavy rain persisting for hours that night, “there was zero visibility”.

“We were looking at each other as we started hearing more and more booms,” Hunt said. “We live in Greenpoint, so we felt somewhat safe, but I just stood there for a moment thinking the the city was being blown up.”

She added: “Given recent events, I don’t think fireworks were a good idea for this week. Also, it had been pouring rain for four hours. There was zero visibility. Why did the organizers even decide to move forward with the display?”

