There will be a professional fireworks display for Independence Day in New Kensington this year, but it won’t be put on by the city.
The city will not be launching fireworks because the usual location, the Kensington Plaza Garage on Fourth Avenue, is closed and can’t be used, City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said.
However, a fireworks display will go off Saturday night at AK Valley Park — the former Alcoa research center on Freeport Road.
AK Valley Park owner Steve Kubrick said part of the property will be open to the public beginning at 11 a.m., with food trucks and music during the day and for viewing the fireworks beginning at dusk, around 9:30 to 9:45 p.m.
There will be a $5 charge for access to a gated area where a band, MoJo, is scheduled to begin performing at 6 p.m., Kubrick said.
New Kensington has not had a city-sponsored fireworks display since 2019, before the covid-19 pandemic. They are normally launched from the downtown parking garage and accompanied by a festival on Fourth Avenue.
New Kensington closed the 43-year-old garage earlier this year after an assessment raised concerns about its condition.
Ed Patton, owner of Patton Engineering, advised that the garage should not be used after his analysis found high levels of salt in the garage’s concrete. Salt corrodes the structural steel embedded in the concrete, causing it to expand and crack the concrete.
Even for the limited purpose of launching fireworks, Patton on Wednesday said he would advise against using the garage, especially since the vehicles involved would be heavier than standard cars.
Scarpiniti said the city was not able to find another suitable location. City Councilman Dante Cicconi said officials hope to come up with a solution for next year.
The city is not involved with Kubrick’s display, except to make sure it complies with state law and is insured, Scarpiniti said.
New Kensington’ city engineer, Tony Males, said the city plans to put out a request for professional services to get detailed costs of three options for the garage: a complete renovation, repairs and demolition.
“We need good numbers,” Males said. “The original structural analysis that was done was a very good analysis, but that’s all it was. It did not project costs.”
The decision on what to do will rest with city council.
Males said there have not been any significant structural issues with the garage since it was closed, but small pieces of concrete have been breaking off and falling.
With the cost of any option rising into millions of dollars and likely to take years, Males said the city will seek grants to pay for it.
