Lake Ronkonkoma fireworks proposal sparks environmental and cultural backlash

A proposal to bring a Memorial Day weekend fireworks show back to Lake Ronkonkoma has become a Suffolk County flashpoint, with Suffolk County Legislator Trish Bergin backing the plan and environmental advocates, veterans and some lake watchers pushing back hard.

Supporters say the display would give the lake a festive kickoff to summer and draw visitors to one of Suffolk’s most recognizable public spaces. Opponents see a different picture: a fireworks barge over the water, debris and chemicals falling into a sensitive lake environment, and a holiday weekend event they say risks turning Memorial Day into a celebration instead of a solemn remembrance.

The sharpest environmental concern has centered on bald eagles. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says there was only one nesting pair in New York in 1976, and that by 2015 the state had 389 territories. The agency says it monitors bald eagle breeding pairs and protects breeding and wintering habitat. At Lake Ronkonkoma, recent bird sightings have made that recovery feel local. A January 10, 2025 photo caption described two bald eagles over a frozen Lake Ronkonkoma, a reminder that the birds have become part of the lake’s present-day identity.

Humane Long Island’s John Di Leonardo warned that fireworks could scare the birds away or even kill them. Bergin countered that the fireworks would burn up before reaching the water and said the state Department of Environmental Conservation requested that the barge be relocated to avoid disturbing the eagles.

The proposal has also drawn cultural resistance from veterans who say Memorial Day weekend should be reserved for reflection, not a pyrotechnic show. Bergin said the event would be free to attend and tied to the Lieutenant Michael Murphy Foundation, and she said she consulted Murphy’s family, who supported the idea.

That connection is especially personal in Ronkonkoma. The LT Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation says Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy was born and raised on Long Island and served as a Town of Brookhaven lifeguard at Lake Ronkonkoma before joining the Navy SEALs and being killed in Afghanistan.

The fight is unfolding at a place that already functions as a major public asset. Suffolk County says Lake Ronkonkoma County Park sits at 600 Lake Shore Road on the lake’s northern shore and includes fishing, ballfields, courts, a playground and picnic areas. The Department of Environmental Conservation describes Lake Ronkonkoma as the largest and perhaps best known of Long Island’s freshwater lakes, with sections that reach 65 feet deep. That mix of recreation, ecology and memory has made the fireworks proposal more than a summer event. In Ronkonkoma, it has become a test of what the lake is for, and who gets to decide.