It depends on what the meaning of "fireworks" is; in Ocean City, a discussion with Mayor Sal Perillo
Like chocolate and vanilla, we've had a difference of opinion, the mayor and I. It didn't sit well with me - and like-minded traditionalists - that Ocean City's storied fireworks display was put on a barge and moved from Fifth to Tenth Streets - without letting anyone know about it.
It didn't sit well with Ocean City Mayor Sal Perillo that I wrote a column about this last week and didn't allow his input.
Perillo has been incredibly accessible to me since taking office two years ago. To be fair, he has gone out of his way for questioning. However, when I found out that they moved the fireworks, when it went public, or rather was "discovered" by the segment of the population that was out of the loop, I had about two hours to re-write my column, switching the topic from the naughty south enders to the barge at Tenth Street.
Anyway, we had a meeting of the minds and have agreed to disagree. I don't always agree with him, but I don't always disagree with him either. On this one, we just don't see eye to eye but discussed it respectfully.
"Once we put the fireworks on a barge last year, it presented some opportunities," he said. They city put the fireworks on a barge, out to sea about a half mile from the beach, but still at Fifth Street, last year.
"It allowed the company that does the display to shoot more powerful and higher fireworks," he said. "So the focus became, where does it make the most sense to put the barge?"
Well, there are a couple of different ways to look at this. The skeptical side of me thinks the barge was a convenient way of simply moving them to Tenth Street. There is no big, open beach at Tenth Street, thus not a snowball's chance in you know where of setting them off in that location unless they are on a barge. But say the desire to put them on a barge was pure, for safety, for bigger, higher, "more powerful" fireworks?
"The question became, to try to make it as convenient as possible," he said. "For as many people as possible."
The Fifth Street area, at the end of the widest part of the Boardwalk was "crowded," he said. The Tenth Street area, "more conveniently" located near the center of the widest part, made much more sense.
Yes, for some it sure did!
"The center is more centrally located," Perillo said.
In the give or take 70 years the fireworks were blasted off at Fifth Street, this was never an issue. Interesting.
So what's up with the "request?" From what I understand from email chains, a "request" was made to the administration by a group of Boardwalk merchants to move the display.
"I'm not sure it was a request as such, I don't know that it was a request," said Perillo. "It became a discussion, with city groups, merchants, people, to put them centrally located."
Funny, this "discussion" included a select group. Of course, this is politics. It's what happens, we all know that. The only ones included in the discussion agreed that this would be best because they stood to benefit from moving the fireworks. Anyone who might dissent was not included in the discussion. Makes sense to me!
"I think we've had a couple dozen emails and they've all been positive," he said. Interestingly, he added that many came from people who stood to benefit.
"But we had quite a few from others, too," he said.
Well, there is another group of people; a group who either grew up the Corinthian/Fifth Street/Boardwalk area or came to call it home for the fireworks over the years. We never thought about it terms of being "centrally located," or the other buzz word connected to the situation, "fair."
Fair enough.
"It's tradition," I said to Perillo. "It's not what it always was, what it used to be."
"I don't know what they used to be," he said. "To me, the tradition is fireworks."
So there you have it, chocolate and vanilla. To the traditionalist, it wasn't about First Class, AAA quality, high power fireworks. You can go to Disney and see those, and guess what? They're on the water too! No, it was about colorful fireworks, high above your head at Fifth Street. You waited all day in anticipation and when you heard that first "boom," you knew they were about to start. You could see, feel and hear them, you could almost touch them.
Perillo and those who support the decision, the driving force behind the decision to move them, have no clue what we traditionalists liked so much. I get that. They cannot possibly relate to something they never experienced. Perillo, in his heart, I suppose, thought that by improving the quality of the fireworks, shooting them higher, more powerful, out in the ocean over the water, thought he was providing a better show and placating his deep-pocketed business supporters at the same time.
It's not about the physical fireworks display, it's about the experience. And you know what? The fireworks are about celebrating American freedom and liberty, on Independence Day, Happy Birthday America, right?
Not for the merchants. For the merchants, or a group of them, anyhow, it became about making money.
"No, this was not done to hurt anyone," said Perillo. "We wanted to come up with a location that makes the most sense."
Okay, fair enough. In the end, it did hurt a lot of people though. All those people who rented on Brighton Place, Fifth Street, Fourth Street and so forth. They rent, year after year in those neighborhoods to "experience" the fireworks. It's a big family holiday.
"Of course, information is very important, and I'm always in favor of providing a better opportunity to get information out," he said. "I think we did a pretty good job. We could have done a better job, and to the extent that anyone was surprised, I'm sorry. I can see, we could have done a better job."
Yes, they could. At least Perillo understands that a lot of people were caught by surprise.
Thank you to those who spoke up about this issue. It's important that we don't lose tradition in Ocean City, and if we do lose some of these battles, we can't go down without a fight. At the very least, the administration knows people are paying attention.
And some of the merchants who thought no one was watching learned the awesome power of the Ocean City Gazette.
It didn't sit well with Ocean City Mayor Sal Perillo that I wrote a column about this last week and didn't allow his input.
Perillo has been incredibly accessible to me since taking office two years ago. To be fair, he has gone out of his way for questioning. However, when I found out that they moved the fireworks, when it went public, or rather was "discovered" by the segment of the population that was out of the loop, I had about two hours to re-write my column, switching the topic from the naughty south enders to the barge at Tenth Street.
Anyway, we had a meeting of the minds and have agreed to disagree. I don't always agree with him, but I don't always disagree with him either. On this one, we just don't see eye to eye but discussed it respectfully.
"Once we put the fireworks on a barge last year, it presented some opportunities," he said. They city put the fireworks on a barge, out to sea about a half mile from the beach, but still at Fifth Street, last year.
"It allowed the company that does the display to shoot more powerful and higher fireworks," he said. "So the focus became, where does it make the most sense to put the barge?"
Well, there are a couple of different ways to look at this. The skeptical side of me thinks the barge was a convenient way of simply moving them to Tenth Street. There is no big, open beach at Tenth Street, thus not a snowball's chance in you know where of setting them off in that location unless they are on a barge. But say the desire to put them on a barge was pure, for safety, for bigger, higher, "more powerful" fireworks?
"The question became, to try to make it as convenient as possible," he said. "For as many people as possible."
The Fifth Street area, at the end of the widest part of the Boardwalk was "crowded," he said. The Tenth Street area, "more conveniently" located near the center of the widest part, made much more sense.
Yes, for some it sure did!
"The center is more centrally located," Perillo said.
In the give or take 70 years the fireworks were blasted off at Fifth Street, this was never an issue. Interesting.
So what's up with the "request?" From what I understand from email chains, a "request" was made to the administration by a group of Boardwalk merchants to move the display.
"I'm not sure it was a request as such, I don't know that it was a request," said Perillo. "It became a discussion, with city groups, merchants, people, to put them centrally located."
Funny, this "discussion" included a select group. Of course, this is politics. It's what happens, we all know that. The only ones included in the discussion agreed that this would be best because they stood to benefit from moving the fireworks. Anyone who might dissent was not included in the discussion. Makes sense to me!
"I think we've had a couple dozen emails and they've all been positive," he said. Interestingly, he added that many came from people who stood to benefit.
"But we had quite a few from others, too," he said.
Well, there is another group of people; a group who either grew up the Corinthian/Fifth Street/Boardwalk area or came to call it home for the fireworks over the years. We never thought about it terms of being "centrally located," or the other buzz word connected to the situation, "fair."
Fair enough.
"It's tradition," I said to Perillo. "It's not what it always was, what it used to be."
"I don't know what they used to be," he said. "To me, the tradition is fireworks."
So there you have it, chocolate and vanilla. To the traditionalist, it wasn't about First Class, AAA quality, high power fireworks. You can go to Disney and see those, and guess what? They're on the water too! No, it was about colorful fireworks, high above your head at Fifth Street. You waited all day in anticipation and when you heard that first "boom," you knew they were about to start. You could see, feel and hear them, you could almost touch them.
Perillo and those who support the decision, the driving force behind the decision to move them, have no clue what we traditionalists liked so much. I get that. They cannot possibly relate to something they never experienced. Perillo, in his heart, I suppose, thought that by improving the quality of the fireworks, shooting them higher, more powerful, out in the ocean over the water, thought he was providing a better show and placating his deep-pocketed business supporters at the same time.
It's not about the physical fireworks display, it's about the experience. And you know what? The fireworks are about celebrating American freedom and liberty, on Independence Day, Happy Birthday America, right?
Not for the merchants. For the merchants, or a group of them, anyhow, it became about making money.
"No, this was not done to hurt anyone," said Perillo. "We wanted to come up with a location that makes the most sense."
Okay, fair enough. In the end, it did hurt a lot of people though. All those people who rented on Brighton Place, Fifth Street, Fourth Street and so forth. They rent, year after year in those neighborhoods to "experience" the fireworks. It's a big family holiday.
"Of course, information is very important, and I'm always in favor of providing a better opportunity to get information out," he said. "I think we did a pretty good job. We could have done a better job, and to the extent that anyone was surprised, I'm sorry. I can see, we could have done a better job."
Yes, they could. At least Perillo understands that a lot of people were caught by surprise.
Thank you to those who spoke up about this issue. It's important that we don't lose tradition in Ocean City, and if we do lose some of these battles, we can't go down without a fight. At the very least, the administration knows people are paying attention.
And some of the merchants who thought no one was watching learned the awesome power of the Ocean City Gazette.
Ask the Mayor why he felt it necessary to orchstrate an e-mail and letter writing campaign to support him. That's the only positive feedback he's talking about. They're working hard to prevent the gazette poll from meaning anything.
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