You can be a kiwi and be lifted like a cuckoo clock. This is the case of the residents of the surroundings of Queenstown, a wealthy and tourist town in the south of New Zealand, angry because Tony Malkin caused a fire on the property he owns there. Indeed, the fireworks that the New York billionaire had lit in his garden to celebrate the New Year went very wrong, according to the outlet. guardian. And their neighbors are now mobilizing to prevent this type of celebration in the future.
Devastated half hectare
Tony Malkin is one of the executives of the company that owns the Empire State Building in New York. But he is far from the “Big Apple” that he intended to bite into the year 2023 with his teeth full. That’s why Tony Malkin and his family have taken over their New Zealand pied-à-terre, near Queenstown, to spend the holidays. And what better than fireworks, then, to mark the passage of the new year?
Except that the initiative turned out to be unfortunate: he set fire to the vegetation in several places on the estate. To the point that the firefighters had to intervene in the shots at 0:10, for what was undoubtedly their first operation of 2023.
In the morning -and after several hours of fighting the flames- the fire was stopped in extremis a few meters from one of the building’s pavilions, after half a hectare had vanished.
A petition was already circulating
The episode is all the more messy in the neighborhood since a petition was already circulating to alert everyone to the potentially harmful effects of fireworks on animals.
After this incendiary New Year, Johnny Quinn, actor in this anti-fireworks mobilization, even reacted to the guardian: “There is a neighbor who has a dog and the dog is still not well. It is still lying in a corner. We are talking about long-term psychological damage for the animals there.”
“It’s rural territory, and that’s really the wrong way to do things: set off explosives. There are people who say that animals not only hear what is happening, but also feel it, ”he continued.
A gentlemanly press release
Warned in advance of the organization of the fireworks, Johnny Quinn and some residents objected to no avail. Recognizing his defeat, he and his family chose to leave their home on New Year’s Eve, taking their four horses with them. “In general, this annoys everyone here. All the inhabitants of the area had made their arrangements. And everyone had to review their vacation plans. In addition, the firefighters were upset and they have a family, ”he argues.
We have to believe that Tony Malkin knew the terms of the equation well because, even before the fireworks, he issued a press release, to say the least arrogant given the rest of the story.
“To make a gesture – to which nothing obliges us – and concerned about the welfare of domestic animals and livestock, we contacted our neighbors to make sure they knew our project well. our immediate neighbors for financial assistance to move their cattle. We apologize for any inconvenience”.
apologies that don’t come
Johnny Quinn’s fury has not abated since the fire: “That a man from outside could arrive, shoot fireworks for 14 minutes and set fire to the hill, is a farce.” The petitioners have reformulated their complaints: they now call for a ban on private fireworks. They intend to ask their deputy about it.
The Malkin farm – one of whose representatives specified that they would not apologize – is, therefore, in the spotlight of the entire region from now on. And under his name because the property has one: they baptized him Redemption Song, like the song by Jamaican artist Bob Marley. This time, and certainly with their defending bodies, the New Yorkers nonetheless pushed the tribute to the author of the records. catch a fire Y ablaze a notch too far.
Source: BFM TV
