We now have over 2000 signatures on our petition. Once again,thank you for signing and for your concern over the animals. The local Channel 12 News stations talked about our petition.  There were also articles in the Rockland County Business Journal and  the New York Daily News on the petition.   Unfortunately Shawn Reilly of the Boulders (sreilly@rocklandboulders.com) neither answers my emails or returns my telephone calls.  Jon Danos the Commissioner of the Frontier League (jdanos@frontierleague.com),of which the Boulders are a part; also doesn't answer my emails. I don't understand this, we are not asking them to close the Stadium or even to stop the fireworks. We are merely asking them to switch to noiseless fireworks or another form of entertainment They must feel if they ignore us,we would go away and they can continue abusing the animals.  Below is a copy of a letter (I know it's long) I recently sent Shawn Reilly (and cc'd 12 others mostly media).  If they still don't care about us and the animals, and I get no reply  maybe they would care if we boycott and or protest the Boulders games that have fireworks.

Mr. Shawn Reilly 

According to the quote attributed to Albert Einstein “The definition of ‘insanity’ is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. In that case, I am insane.  You never have the decency to answer my emails, and yet here I am emailing you again. And even though you have never returned my telephone calls, I again called you last week and spoke to Farah, who remembered my previous calls. I even delayed this e-mail a week thinking you might return my call.  Perhaps you think if you ignore me and the over 2000 other signers of the petition concerned about the abused animals (list attached) we will go away.  That is not the case; since those poor animals can’t ignore the threatening fireworks and make them go away 

Because we, the people who signed the petition want the animal abuse you are causing to stop; you most likely consider all of us insane.  After all, as you said in your Aug 2 reply to the Channel 12 July 30 story on our petition “signing petitions are easy” (1) Contrary to your rhetoric you actions, show you don’t care about the damage you are inflicting on the animals in the shelter next door.  In that reply (1) and in the July 29th article in the Rockland County Business Journal (2) You mention the Boulders are partnering with Hi Tor to find homes for the animals and you have found homes for 40 animals. That is commendable.  However, you imply that that is contingent on having the firework shows. There is absolutely no justification for the harm you are doing to those animals.  In the over 10 years it took to find those homes how many hundreds of firework shows did you have, and how many hundreds of animals have you traumatized?  I am again sending you a link to a copy of our petition (which is addressed to you) http://chng.it/rdyk2jyp  .  If you read it, you will see we are not asking you to stop the firework shows but only to switch them to noiseless or low noise fireworks or to change to laser shows, drone shows, or other means of entertainment that would not traumatize the Hi Tor animals.  You said signing a petition is easy, so would initiating that change.  Nancy Flynn told me she emailed you a list of noiseless fireworks vendors to make it even easier.  You also said (1,2) you reduced the number of shows (and yet I see Sunday fireworks have been added i.e., Town of Ramapo Day).  You also mentioned you are not using shells larger than 4 inches.  And yet four inch “mine” or “mortar” shells are among the loudest fireworks available.   

From the first game the Boulders played community members were worried about the harm your fireworks would have on the animals in Hi Tor, especially when you changed the schedule from 3 to 15 fireworks presentations that first year. (3) Without any concern for the sheltered animals next door: It seems early on the Boulders made the decision to use fireworks to entice people to come, rather than the merits of the team.  From June to Sept 2011 Amy Patel had a petition on change.org “Help Stop the Fireworks Near Hi Tor Animal Care Center” It had 753 signatures (4). The last update on that petition said the Boulders promised to only have 4 min firework shows, and yet they were reported to be at least 8 minutes and loud. Someone said, your 4th of July fireworks show this year was 40 minutes. In the ensuing 10 years there have been protests, as well as animal activist, individuals and groups standing up for the abused animals.  All they got was more of your rhetoric but no improvement of the problem (which is an easy fix).  The abused animals don’t hear your rhetoric, only your fireworks.  I neither know nor care about the connections you have in Rockland that allow you to ignore the cries of the animals or the voice of the people.   I only care about the animals.  Someone told me why bother, even 100,000 signatures wouldn’t make a difference to the Boulders.  In 2020 when most of the world cancelled their fireworks display you did not give the poor animals a break having 2 shows at $35 and $40 a carload (5). Again, with the Boulders money overrides decency. 

In an e mail Rockland County Executive Ed Day sent me on July 30, 2021 he was misinformed when he wrote “This issue of noise as it affects the animals has been way blown out of proportion and the loudest critics are not familiar with the reality. Hi Tor and the Boulders regularly communicate and the Boulders support them.” The volunteers who are there during the fireworks should be the most familiar with the reality. On July 9, 2021 a volunteer who was at Hi Tor during the July 4th fireworks posted in The Neighbor   “but this year we had quite a few of our recent surrenders who became very, very stressed. A black lab named Buddy was so stressed he was jumping up and hitting himself against the metal kennel. Two other recent surrenders were panting and pacing uncontrollably. A few of the cats also showed signs of stress”.  She also mentioned how some animals had to be sedated.  Another volunteer I talked to said it breaks his heart to see how the animals are suffering during the fireworks.   In the July 29th article in RCBJ (2) even Hi Tor President Debbie DiBernardo  said “ fireworks are difficult for shelter animals.  I’m hoping silent fireworks might be something the baseball team will consider. That would be a win-win.”   All Mr. Day has to do is read the comments some petition signers wrote (attached) to see how erroneous the information about the noise is.  Someone 5.5 miles away wrote he hears the Boulders fireworks.  I have also been told by friends in Pomona and in New City how disturbing the weekly Saturday fireworks are to their pets.  Mr. Reilly, if you don’t care about the animals; I am surprised you also must not care about the trauma you cause our Veterans who were in active combat and have PTSD. I hope the $10,000 grant for tourism Mr. Day presented to you in July wasn’t used to buy more fireworks. 

Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht in his July 28, email to me mirrors your words about what you are doing using smaller shells, less shows etc. He also states “Hi-Tor has not complained to the Boulders about this issue, and, in fact, has been working for years with the Boulders to promote the shelter and encourage animal adoptions”  The only difference is he added 10 more animals that were adopted through the Boulders.  The Boulders working with Hi Tor is a recurring theme.    Many volunteers and members of the Board of Hi Tor left when a new Administration came in.  Many people are now saying Hi Tor does not care at all about the animals there.   That seems to be corroborated by Hi Tor not complaining about the fireworks. Even though the President of Hi Tor admitted in RCBJ they are difficult for the animals. Some volunteers mentioned they were afraid to speak out about this. The latest investigation into Hi Tor was by the Rockland County DA on Aug. 4, 2021 (6).  

Mr. Reilly, how long will you keep ignoring the cries of the animals and the voice of the people; asking you to stop the heinous act of torturing the most vulnerable of animals with your constant fireworks.  The animals in the shelter had a hard enough life, many being abused before coming to Hi Tor.  All the people who come to a Boulders fireworks show should realize they are complicit in this animal abuse. If the Frontier League condones your actions they should be boycotted as well as the Boulders.   This travesty has been going on for over ten years.  Many others have asked you to stop.  We are not asking for the Stadium to be closed, or even for you to stop the fireworks.  If you must rely on fireworks to attract people we are merely asking you to switch to noiseless fireworks which would not distress the animals or neighbors with PTSD.  You can also switch to a laser light show, drone show, or other forms of entertainment.  It is beyond our comprehension why you are so adamant against doing this.   Am I crazy to keep writing or calling you and expecting different results?  Even if you don’t care about the animals, or we who are their voice, you may care about some of the people who are getting a copy of this letter: And hopefully some of them who know how fireworks affect their four legged family members will have something to say on the Hi Tor animals’ behalf. 

Sincerely, 

Wayne Kleinman