More Pride flags destroyed near Stonewall Inn
NEW YORK -- Police are investigating after a rainbow flag display outside the Stonewall Inn was vandalized for a second time this Pride Month.
Broken flagpoles were left strewn around Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village, the landmark park for gay rights just outside the Stonewall Inn.
"This is the heart and soul of the LGBTQ movement," said Steven Love Menendez, a volunteer ranger at the Stonewall National Monument.
Menendez helps maintain the park and its Pride display this month, which is made up of dozens of flags.
Thursday, he found all the trans flags had been broken and torn.
"So basically, they just went down the line and they broke off all of the trans flags, so the flags were either hanging off the fence or on the ground or in the garden," he said.
The same display was vandalized early Saturday morning when police believe three men broke several of the rainbow flags.
"If their aim is to frighten us and to cow us and to prevent us from coming out and celebrating Pride, they're going to fail, and they're going to fail badly," New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher said.
NYPD data shows reported anti-queer hate crimes are down citywide so far this year compared to last.
"We're making so much progress, but at the same time, we're taking so many steps back," Greenwich Village resident Chris Spinelli said.
This month, the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ people in the United States with more than 500 pieces of anti-queer legislation introduced across the country this year.
"So it's sad but not particularly surprising that we're seeing this even here in New York City, which is a bastion of safety, we like to think," Greenwich Village resident Josh Bell said.
Hours after they were torn, each flag was markedly up and waving in the wind.
"I believe that we are currently living in a divided and very polarized world, but I believe every piece of truth is important to be shared, no matter what, to raise our voices for what is true and what is good in this world," Greenwich Village Tommaso Cartia said.
The NYPD's hate crimes task force is investigating both incidents separately. So far, they have not made any arrests.
